


The Year Shimizu Kiyoko Gets a Boyfriend

by Cisystematic



Series: Mr. Refreshing and Mr. Independent [3]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: F/M, Minor Character Death, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), POV Third Person Limited, more tags to be added as story continues!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-21
Updated: 2016-12-18
Packaged: 2018-07-16 09:29:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 20,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7262449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cisystematic/pseuds/Cisystematic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shimizu Kiyoko hates being called pretty. Iwaizumi Hajime hates being called scary. When they meet, they see past each other's appearance. A spinoff of The Year Oikawa Tooru Learns A Lot!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Shimizu

Chapter 0: Shimizu

Kiyoko hums to herself as she walks out of the train station. She ignores the raised eyebrows and second glances from the people she passes. At a crosswalk she checks the time. Her class lasted longer than she wanted, but she didn’t get too riled up about it since it’s her last day as an undergrad. Well the last day before finals week that is.

“Uwah…” she hears a high school girl behind her. “She’s so pretty…”

“Do you think she’s a model?” The girl’s friend asks.

Kiyoko frowns. How come people gossip so loudly? Why is it taking forever for the walking sign to come up?

“Models are kinda stuck up aren’t they?” the girl says. “In manga they always are.”

The friend laughs. “Yeah, I guess because they think they’re better than everyone else.”

Kiyoko glances behind her to see the high schoolers. The girls flinch under her neutral gaze. Kiyoko stays silent and faces forward again. The girls are pretty themselves, but it wouldn’t matter if she said anything. They already have an opinion on her.

“She totally heard us. She’s ticked!” The girl says.

“Maybe she’s mad we hit the nail on the head?” The friend asks.

Kiyoko sighs as she crosses the street with the rest of the crowd. She pushes the girls’ laughing out of her mind. Her pace gets quicker when she notices a guy leer at her when she passes him. Another sigh comes out of her. Her destination isn’t that far from here. She just has to make it past the shopping district and then she’ll reach her father’s house. It’s starting to get a bit late, but she doesn’t mind. Today’s a special day after all.

A clanking noise snatches her out of her thoughts. She turns to see a small florist shop and the owner, an elderly man, reaching for a glass vase that’s about to topple over. Kiyoko’s heels clack loudly as she runs in to steady both the vase and the shop owner. The elderly man looks up at her, fixing his glasses. She quickly apologizes and releases her grip on him. His grin is wide and barely filled with teeth. Kiyoko finds him charming.

“Are you keeping it on the shelf or are you taking it down?” She asks him.

“Down,” is his simple answer. Kiyoko easily grabs the vase and hands it to him. “You sure are a giant,” he says.

“I get it from my father,” she replies. The shop owner nods and starts making a flower arrangement. Kiyoko looks around the small flower shop. Hmm flowers would be a good gift, but which ones would be good? “Excuse me, what flowers would you give someone you love but you haven’t seen in a long time?” She asks.

The old man stops working and scratches his chin in deep thought. “What’s their personality like?”

Kiyoko thinks about this for a moment. “I’ve been told she’s very giving,” she answers. “It’s been a very long time since I’ve seen her,” she repeats, biting her lip. Kiyoko hopes the shop owner can read between the lines.

“Gladiolus are the best choice I think,” the shower owner tells her, grinning again. “They help show how much you’ve been thinking about someone.”

Kiyoko smiles. He understands. After paying for her small bouquet, she leaves the shop with a small bow. After checking her watch again she clicks her tongue. She’s probably the last one to arrive at this point. Good thing she’s good at running in heels.

When she reaches her father’s house she’s not panting heavily, but she evens her breathing before ringing the doorbell. She flinches when her older brother, Reiji, opens the door and gasps loudly.

“KIYO-CHAN I WAS SO WORRIED YOU’RE NEVER LATE!” He latches onto her. Kiyoko pats her brother’s back awkwardly. She had to raise her arm to avoid her flowers being crushed by her over affectionate sibling. “I’m supposed to be the one that makes it to the party ten minutes late!” He lets her go, laughing.  His hair has gotten longer, she notices. People are going to confuse the two of them at this point.

“You make it sound like you purposely wait to be the last one to arrive,” she says giving her brother a light tap on the head. If she weren’t in heels, she would have to get on her toes to do this. That’s saying something since she’s already six feet tall. “Also, cut your hair. We can’t look the same.” She kicks off her shoes and ducks her head as she enters the house.

Reiji snickers, flipping his hair. “Worried I’m going to ruin your reputation?” He asks, following her.

“Exactly.”

He blows a raspberry at her back. “Meanie.”

“You said it first, Rei-niichan.” She walks to the dining room where her oldest brother, Hideo, and her father are sitting at the table staring at their chess game. She snickers when they push up their glasses at the same time. “Hi Dad and Hi-niichan,” she greets.

“Kiyo-chan’s being mean to me, Hi-niichan!” Reiji says. He walks past her, putting his hair in a ponytail.

Hideo stands up to give his sister a hug. Unlike his younger brother, Hideo makes sure the flowers are out of the way before embracing his sister. “You probably deserved it, Rei-chan,” He says. “How are you Kiyo-chan? School’s been keeping you so busy you rarely called.”

She nods. “It’s tiresome, but I’m almost done,” she answers. It has been a long time, Kiyoko realizes. She forgot how freckled her brother’s face is. Unlike Reiji, his hair is freshly cut. “Dad’s moving your pieces,” she tells him when she peeks over his shoulder.

“Kiyo-chan you’re always spying on me!” Her father laughs, not moving the pieces where they’re supposed to be. Kiyoko walks over to him and sets the flowers on the table before giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Ah you’re finally getting old like your brothers. I hoped you would keep being my little lady.”

“Hi-niichan, Dad just called us old…” Reiji mutters. “At work someone complimented how young I am…Who should I believe??” he covers his face groaning.

“Rei-chan, you should always listen to your dad…” Hideo rolls his eyes. “And we’re all in our twenties so we’re all in the same boat.”

Reiji rests his arm on his older brother’s shoulder. “Aren’t you turning thirty this year, Hi-niichan?”

“Shut up, Reiji.”

Kiyoko smiles at her family. School really has taken up most of her time. She forgot how much she loved being around them. Reiji is the first to notice this.

“Uwah! Kiyo-chan’s smiling!” He points at her.

Hideo reaches for his phone. “I need to capture it before it’s gone.”

Her father claps his hands. “We’ll have good luck today!”

“I’m not a fortune.” She chuckles. “I’m going to say hello to Mom.” She gets her small bouquet and walks to the living room. Letting out a small breath, she approaches the small family altar in the corner of the room. She places the small bouquet in front of the altar. The scent of incense is a bit strong, but she lights it again anyway. She’s pretty sure spirits don’t mind being called down more than once on important days like this. Kiyoko stares at the picture of a smiling woman with a mole by her lip. Unlike Kiyoko’s hair it’s short and curls inward by her chin. There are two other gifts at the altar—a letter addressed to her mother and a cat mug that says ‘You’re the PUUURRTIEST Mom!!!’. She can guess which one is Reiji’s… Then again, she does have a faint memory of her mother collecting tacky mugs like this. There’s a vase full of roses beside her mother’s picture; her father had the same idea she did.

“Hi Mom,” Kiyoko says. “Happy birthday.” She claps her hands. “I’m doing fine. School is tiresome, but I guess that means it’s worth it. I got you these…” she takes one of the gladiolas from her small bunch and places it in the vase. There are pictures of Kiyoko with her mother, but unfortunately Kiyoko can barely remember anything from them. “People always think I’m pretty, but to me you’ll always be the prettiest.” She smiles.


	2. The Shimizu Siblings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introducing the Shimizu trio

Chapter 1: The Shimizu Siblings

“Dad’s sleeping,” Hideo says when he walks back in the living room. “He didn’t get a chance to eat the cake I got.”

Reiji eagerly opens the box. “More for us,” he says as he starts cutting pieces. He serves his siblings before cutting himself a slice.

“Remember to save a piece for Mom. She’ll haunt us for eating all of it.” Hideo takes off his glasses and yawns. “I think we gave her a good birthday this year.”

Kiyoko happily nods in agreement. Her mother was the life of the party apparently. Kiyoko hopes she made her mother proud with her attempts at being funny. Because she's so serious, she really wants to make people laugh.

 “Kiyo-chan, are you sleeping over? Hi-niichan and I are staying for the night.”

Kiyoko checks her watch. The next train isn’t for a couple more hours. “I guess I will,” she says.

“You definitely weren’t a second ago.” He points his fork at her. “You’re sucha busybody.”

“I am what I am.” She shrugs.

Hideo laughs at his younger siblings. “What am I going to do with you two?” He asks. “You’re both so brutally honest.”

“Niichan, you have your moments,” Reiji says before taking another bite of cake.

Kiyoko covers her mouth as she replies, “When his age is involved.” She and her brother high five.

“You’re both terrible,” Hideo mutters.

The three of them fall silent and as they continue eating their cake. Kiyoko finds the silence comfortable. It doesn’t last long though—Reiji sighs loudly.

“Dramatic,” She comments.

“Unreasonably so,” Hideo adds.

Reiji pouts. “I didn’t even say anything yet!”

“It already feels like a dumb statement,” Hideo says. Kiyoko nods.

“I was just thinking that I only got to see Kiyo-chan smile like once.” The middle child pretends to wipe away a tear. “That won’t be enough to keep me sated, dear sister.”

“Gross.” Kiyoko scrunches her nose. She waits for her oldest brother to agree with her.

“He actually has a point,” Hideo says. He laughs when Kiyoko turns to him completely alarmed. “Don’t worry, I think it’s weird the way he said it.”

“HEY.” Reiji is ignored.

Hideo pushes his clean plate aside. “I’ve been worried about you, Kiyoko. You don’t smile that much,” he says. “Are you okay? You’re not too ambitious with school work are you?”

She shakes her head. “What’s wrong with me not smiling?” She asks, now focusing on her plate. She’s been told that she’s hard to read, but she figured that was a compliment. Her thoughts are hers alone.

“You look like you’re constantly in a black and white film!” Reiji answers. “People might not think you have two brothers looking out for you and that you’re smart and that you’re pretty and your older brother is hot and looking for a date!”

“You got off track in the middle of that.” Hideo rolls his eyes.

Kiyoko finishes her cake. “How come people say that?” She asks. “I don’t like being called pretty all the time…” She looks up to see Reiji pouting. “I don’t mind when you say it, Rei-niichan!” When her brother smiles, she feels better. “You two know me so well so I know you think all of me is pretty…but I know other’s just see my face…”

“Oh gross did another guy try to sleep with you again?” Reiji asks. “There’s so many sleaze balls. I can’t believe you actually found someone sane to propose to, Hi-niichan.”

“Who knew the comic book store is a sane place to meet people?” Hideo shrugs. “If a guy’s bothering you Kiyoko, call us and we’ll scare ‘em off.”

Kiyoko rewards her brothers with another rare smile. That wasn’t necessarily what she was leading towards, but it is a problem she deals with. Her friend Hana talks about how fun her boyfriend is and Kiyoko can’t help but wonder what dating is like. Throughout high school guys have confessed to her only to gush about her looks. She knows how she looks—how come no one can tell her something she doesn’t see?

Reiji’s laugh brings her out of her thoughts. “Whoever you find…there’s a high chance they’re going to be shorter than us.”

“Oh yeah, that’s true,” Hideo agrees. “What if we run him away because of big we are?”

“Well he would have to be okay with my height first,” Kiyoko says.

“Oh yeah, that’s true.” Hideo smiles. “Out of all us you’re the shortest, so if he’s okay with you then we won’t be as scary.”  

Reiji claps his hands, grinning madly. The other siblings brace themselves for whatever idea he has in mind. “I GOT IT. WE WALK ON ALL FOURS! THEN WE’LL BE SHORT!” His siblings stare at him. “IT’S GENIUS RIGHT?”

“Rei-niichan…you would run him away for a completely different reason…” Kiyoko replies.    

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty that's the end of the update for now! I won't make this author's note long since i have to update Oikawa's story with like 4 chapters. (whoo yeah updates!!) but yes! if there were some people wondering about kiyoko's mother (because she didn't mention it in the chapter she talks about her family on oikawa's side) she's uh...not with us. I actually thought of this probably...very early on when i first outlined the gist of oikawa's story, but sorta threw it out as a minor detail because i didn't think Kiyoko would have so much screen time because at the time i was worried to write as her! now i love writing her extremely simple and mature statements. Anyway yes! the next update we'll see Hana and her rambunctious roommate terushima yuuji (it's kinda funny that you see him first here and we've yet to see him in oikawa's side) and woah some chapters starring Iwaizumi and his recently injured pal Oikawa. whoo!!! thanks everyone for supporting this idea! I hope you all find it enjoyable! see you next update!!


	3. Kiyoko and Hana

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for being a friend~

Chapter 2: Kiyoko and Hana

“FINALS SUCK ASS KIYOKO!” Hana exclaims, ruffling her hair.

Kiyoko nods. “They do slurp donkeys.” She waits for her friend to laugh. It’s funny because she repeated the same thing, but with different words. Comedy gold.

“Kiyoko, your avant-garde humor is really something…” Hana mumbles. Kiyoko feels as though this is an improvement.

“I’ve leveled up from ‘terrible’ to ‘really something’.” She pumps her fist.

“No, you grew to avant-garde.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“No.”

Misaki Hana and Kiyoko have been friends since their freshmen year. Before they moved into their separate apartments, they were dorm mates. There have been many nights they stayed up eating cookies and cramming for their exams (actually they were watching Golden Girls; there’s psychology stuff in that…right?). Kiyoko likes how Hana tells people what she’s thinking whether it’s a compliment or not. Most of the time when Kiyoko thinks someone is a skeezball, Hana is already telling them. They’re studying for their senior exams at Hana’s apartment in her bedroom; Kiyoko wishes they were freshmen again. She doesn’t feel ready to start graduate school.

“I don’t feel like graduating, Kiyoko…” Hana sighs, closing her textbook. “It was so easy being a freshman!”

Kiyoko lets out a small huff of a laugh.

“I feel like I didn’t do a lot,” Hana continues.

“We studied.” Kiyoko takes down her hair. Whenever she studies, she always puts her hair up; it’s her good luck charm. “And watched Golden Girls.” She wonders if she’s like Bea Arthur with her humor.

“I disagree with whatever you’re thinking.”

Kiyoko covers her mouth as she giggles quietly. “I feel better that we’re going to be together in grad school, Hana.” Kiyoko was never one to have many friends…or any. Most people found her silent nature intimidating. She remembers her classmates creating rumors about her thinking she’s better than others. In the end she figured this was for the best since they were too petty to actually talk to her. She’s surprised Hana enjoys hanging around her.

“You’re the best person to be around, Kiyoko,” Hana replies with a grin. “You have a funny personality.”

Kiyoko’s eyes light up. “Hilarious?”

“I mean that you’re strange, but I like it. You look like a model but you’re a goofball.” Hana laughs. Kiyoko likes the sound of goofball. Goofballs are funny!

A door closes and they hear someone running toward them. Kiyoko watches a blonde boy flip past Hana’s doorway. “HANA DID YOU SEE THAT? I WAS SUPER HIGH JUST THEN.”

“Yep.” Hana never looked over her shoulder. “You’re done with your show I’m guessing?”

“Yeah-huh. I’m taking the last Rice Krispie treat because I deserve it! WHOO!” The boy says as he raids the kitchen cabinets. Hana rolls her eyes. Kiyoko smiles. “Megane-chan you’re here!” He gasps when he comes back to Hana’s room.

“Yuuji, you better not be naked when I turn around.” Hana threatens. Terushima Yuuji is Hana’s kohai from high school. Saying he’s energetic is a complete understatement. He flips around so much, she wonders if that’s just how he travels from place to place.

“I have pants on!” He bites into his treat. “If you saw my flip you would know.” Kiyoko’s surprised he caught that lie.

“He’s in his underwear,” Kiyoko says.

“YUUJI!” Hana whips around, glaring daggers at her young roommate.

“BOXERS ARE LIKE SHORTS, HANA.”

“BUT THERE’S A PEE HOLE!”

Kiyoko covers her mouth. Whenever Terushima is around, Hana gets even louder and more vulgar than usual. It’s the best entertainment for Kiyoko.

“EVERYTHING HAS A PEE HOLE. IF I PUT A SHIRT ON MY LEGS I TAKE A PISS OUT THE NECK HOLE!” Yuuji yells back. Kiyoko wonders if he actually did this. She doesn’t put it past him.

Hana ruffles her hair, gritting her teeth. “FUCKING PUT PANTS ON!”

“Wait…” Kiyoko claps her hands to calm them down. “It’s fine. I’m used to it, my older brother likes walking around without pants.” Most people would assume it’s Reiji, but it’s Hideo who prefers being pantsless while reading his comic books.

“Yeah, Megane-chan gets it.” Terushima winks at Kiyoko. She doesn’t react to his flirting which makes him laugh. “She’s fun. How come you don’t let her come by more often?”

“Because she’s the only real friend I have left…” Hana sighs. “Everyone wants to be friends with me just to fuck you.”

“I don’t want to do that,” Kiyoko adds.

“I get you’re trying to say you’re a good friend Megane-chan, but hearing it point blank like that…” He trails off with a sigh, balling up his snack wrapper. “And you make it my fault that people are in love with my _vicious body_.”  

Kiyoko turns away, covering her small laugh.

Hana rolls her eyes. “I’m not blaming your job, just the people who try to use me to get to you.”

“I’m not one of them,” Kiyoko repeats.

“Megane-chan, again I know you’re being nice but I feel like you’re teasing me now,” Terushima says. Kiyoko shrugs. He’s right. “Oh speaking of my job—I’m going to take pictures tomorrow so I’m going out to buy some stuff for ‘em. Do you need anything or are you and Seiji doing vanilla like you do every night?” Okudake Seiji is Hana’s boyfriend; they’ve known each other (and Yuuji for that matter) since high school. Kiyoko finds him extremely calming, which is something since she doesn’t say much.

Hana’s blush reaches her neck. “YUUJI JUST BECAUSE WE’RE OLD FASHIONED DOESN’T MEAN WE’RE BORING!”

“Oh,” Kiyoko says. “You’re talking about sex. I was thrown off with vanilla for a second.” She’s unfazed by her friend’s loud squeaking. “Vanilla refers to missionary, right?”

“Yeah,” Terushima answers.

Kiyoko closes her eyes. “Maybe Hana’s and Seiji-san’s amygdala’s respond better to that position since they’re closer together. There would have to be more tests to see if there is a clear algorithm to this phenomena—ow.” She rubs her forehead.

Hana flicks Kiyoko’s forehead again. “Don’t use my sex life as a way to study.”

“NO LET’S DO IT! I WANNA DO IT!” Terushima jumps up and down laughing. “AND THEN YOU GUYS CAN FINALLY DO SOMETHING KINKY CAUSE ME AND MEGANE-CHAN WILL BE WATCHING!” He lets out a loud whoop. “WE’RE KILLING TWO BIRDS WITH ONE STONE!” he reaches over to give Kiyoko a high five.

She doesn’t.

He claps his own hand and cheers again, going to his bedroom to put on pants. Hana crosses her arms, frowning at Kiyoko.

“Look what you’ve done,” she says.

“I’m sorry.” Kiyoko bows her head. “I really wanted to remember those words.”

“When you get a boyfriend I’ll do the same thing! I’ll embarrass you in front of him!” Hana sticks her tongue out at her.

“That’ll be nice,” Kiyoko replies. “That way he can see every side of me.” It would be terrible if her future boyfriend, she’s not exactly desperate for one, just thought of her one way. It makes sense to like how every emotion affects her, right? 

Hana’s taken aback at first, but smiles. “You’re funny Kiyoko.”  

Kiyoko returns the gesture. “Thank you, Hana.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO! I'm back with another Kiyoko update! In this chapter we get to see her bff Hana and Terushima!!! His job is shrouded in mystery. I kinda think it's easy to guess from the smaaalll clues i left. maybe. haha. It's late so I'll go ahead and upload the next two chapters!!


	4. Iwaizumi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> That's what friends are for~

Chapter 3: Iwaizumi

Iwaizumi inwardly sighs when the McDonald’s worker flinches when he looks down from the menu. He hasn’t even done anything and he’s already made them nervous…

“Are you…ready to order…?” the worker asks, biting his lip.

“Uhh yeah three shrimp fillet sandwiches, one fish fillet and the happy meal with the little robot toy thing,” Iwaizumi says.

“Oh that toy is sold out, sir. Would you like another one?”

Iwaizumi frown. That’s not good. The worker twitches again. “No just scratch that off then.” He sighs. So he won’t scare the worker more than he supposedly has, he tries to gently hand over the money and tells him to keep the change as politely as he could. When he’s done putting his money away, he heads over toward the entrance where a small boy is waiting for him. With a wide grin he bends down to the boy’s eye level. “Sorry kid, they didn’t have the robot toy you wanted,” he says. “Here’s your money back.”

“Thank you…” the boy says quietly. “How were you able to ask him?”

“I scared him apparently.”

The boy laughs. “You’re not scary!” If only other people realized that.

“You don’t think so? With my big eyes and scary teeth I could make tons of people run away?” He changes his voice as he makes a funny face. The boy laughs again. Iwaizumi guesses he’s around fourth grade or so. He kind of reminds Iwaizumi of his younger brother Jirou. The boy waves at what Iwaizumi assumes is his older sister leaving the restroom. She thanks him several times before leaving the restaurant. The boy turns around to wave goodbye to Iwaizumi; he waves back. The moment is interrupted when Iwaizumi’s order is called.

As he walks back to his apartment, he begins chowing down on one of the shrimp sandwiches he bought (the other two are also for him. He just left volleyball practice after all). Iwaizumi has always been called a messy eater, but he can’t help it. Since he uses up so much energy for volleyball, he’s eager to get it all back. By the time he makes to his apartment building, he’s already finished his three sandwiches.

Iwaizumi’s brow furrows when he hears loud music and singing from his apartment. His roommate has a full leg cast on--who turned on the stereo for him?

“G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S” his roommate sings along with the stereo.

Of course.

Iwaizumi unlocks the door to see his roommate lounging on the couch waving his hands in the air, still singing. He grins when he sees Iwaizumi. “WE’RE FLYING FIRST CLASS UP IN THE SKY~ POPPIN CHAMPAGNE~ LIVING MY LIFE IN THE FAST LANE~ AND I WON’T CHANGE~ FOR THE GLAMOROUS OH THE FLOSSY FLOSSY~” He eagerly takes the McDonald’s bag.

“Who turned on your terrible music?” Iwaizumi replies.

His roommate gasps loudly. “IWA-CHAN TAKE THAT BACK. FERGIE IS A TREASURE TO MY MIDDLE SCHOOL SELF. HOW WOULD I KNOW WHAT FERGIELICIOUS MEANS?”

“That’s not a word, Shittykawa.” Iwaizumi turns off the stereo. Oikawa Tooru is his childhood friend. They’ve known each other since they were diapers. Sometimes Iwaizumi wonders if they would be friends if they didn’t grow up together. Oikawa’s tall, lean, and he’s always smiling (whether he said something stupid or not). His eyes land on the light blue cast on Oikawa’s left leg. It’s been two weeks since Oikawa broke his knee cap.

Iwaizumi feels terrible that he’s a tiny bit happy that Oikawa is stuck in the house for a couple of weeks. His friend has been exhausting himself every night since middle school and finally he can take a break whether he wants to or not. Though he can’t help but think that people can finally notice him. Being the best friend of Oikawa is a blessing and curse. The blessing is having a friend that’s surprisingly caring despite his flighty attitude, and the curse is constantly being overshadowed. Girls love Oikawa even though he’s stressed he’s not interested in their gender at all. The news loved him since he was the first gay high school volleyball captain (which Iwaizumi is happy about this, don’t get him wrong) and the sports scouts were practically fighting over who would get him to come to their school. Iwaizumi has a sports scholarship, but it’s nowhere near as amazing as Oikawa’s.

Why were they friends?

He grunts when a box is thrown at him. Looking down, he sees the now empty fish fillet box on the floor.

“Bullseye!” Oikawa cheers. “Where did you go Iwa-chan? I was telling you about Mattsun coming by and how _he drew a dick on my cast_.”

Iwaizumi picks up the box and goes to throw it away. “You deserve it for throwing shit at me.”

“Well you know I hate being ignored, Iwa-chan.” Oikawa flicks his hair. “I have so many wonderful things to say.”

Iwaizumi can’t help but snicker at his best friend. Somehow Oikawa’s ego makes him look like an idiot instead of an asshole. Iwaizumi stops smiling when Oikawa turns to him with an unreadable expression. Does he look sad? Oikawa can cry really easily, but Iwaizumi’s never seen this before. Oikawa’s eyes close and he lets out a ragged sigh.

“I’m sorry for throwing that at you…I just got scared is all,” He says.

“Scared of what?” Iwaizumi asks.

“I thought you were ignoring me because I failed you…” Oikawa opens his eyes and looks at his cast. He wiggles his toes. “You were right all along. I should’ve listened to you Hajime. And here I am—a complete failure that can’t get his own McDonalds or go to the toilet without someone helping me.” He grits his teeth.

Iwaizumi’s eyes are wide. They rarely used their given names unless they were serious. Oikawa is rarely serious outside of volleyball. “I don’t think you’re a failure…” he mumbles. “I always thought you were the better one…”

Oikawa scoffs. “Hajime, you dum-dum. I do jack shit in comparison to you. You’re the stronger one—you always have.” He smiles. “I can’t believe no one’s realized it yet.”

Iwaizumi can’t help but laugh at this. He guesses he is an idiot for thinking they shouldn’t be friends. He can’t imagine a life without Oikawa.

“That just means I get to keep you to myself!” Oikawa laughs.

“Idiot,” Iwaizumi says rolling his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Iwaizumi!! Yaaay! And hey we're finally seeing what's going on in his mind. He's more than the straight man to Oikawa's silliness. Also in Japan they have a shrimp sandwich and even though i'm sorta allergic i kinda want to try it. And hey! We saw Kiyoko and Iwa-chan be nice to people while running errands! That was unintentional haha... anywho! to the last chapter of the update!


	5. The Frappuccino

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our star crossed lovers finally meet.

Chapter 4: The Frappuccino

“How was your date with Seiji-san?” Kiyoko asks.

Hana blushes. “When did you become a gossip, Kiyoko?” She crosses her arms. “If you must know, it ended on a non-vanilla note,” she mumbles, her blush spreading to her neck.

“That’s good, but I wanted to know about the movie. I’m planning on seeing it later.”

Hana’s face gets redder. “WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY THAT IN THE FIRST PLACE?”

Kiyoko chuckles. “It seems like your subconscious wanted you to tell me.”

“DON’T USE PSYCHOLOGY AGAINST ME.”

“Why not? It’s good for the test.”

“KIYOKO.”

Kiyoko turns away, covering her mouth. Work is much more fun with Hana. The two of them have been working at Starbucks since their freshman year. Now they’re shift managers.

“KIYOKO-SAN!” Tanaka announces his presence. He’s one of the two excitable workers that has a large crush on her. The other would be his friend Nishinoya, who’s also a shift manager (Kiyoko would be lying if she said this didn’t surprise her). Luckily Tanaka’s here by himself today. “IS MY BREAK OVER YET?”

“Hey, buddy,” Hana steps in front of Kiyoko. If Kiyoko wasn’t so tall, Hana could look more intimidating. “You’re with my group and you still got a couple minutes left on ya.” She puts her hands on her hips.

Tanaka sticks out his tongue at her. “Fine, fine…”

“Ah, Tanaka-kun, if you could tell Yacchan she can leave for the day that would be nice of you,” Kiyoko says. She flinches when he turns to her gasping dramatically.

“OF COURSE KIYOKO-SAN!” He sprints to the break room and comes within seconds. “I DID IT KIYOKO-SAN!” He announces, looking at her expectantly.

“…that was nice of you,” Kiyoko repeats. Her fingers twitch when he beams at her. She can’t help but think of Reiji for some reason.

“Leave.” Hana pushes a now stuttering Tanaka toward the break room. “Eager guy, huh?” she says when she comes back.

Kiyoko nods. “But he’s nice. Just… _eager_.”

The two of them look up when they hear the bell by the door jingle. “Welcome to Starbucks!” The chorus, bowing their heads slightly. Kiyoko raises her eyebrow at the guy that walked in. He’s shorter than her by a couple of inches, and is extremely athletic. Years of playing basketball and managing a volleyball team has made it easy for her to recognize things like this rather easily. He also has rather spiky hair. A part of her really want to touch it. She can’t help but think of her junior’s cacti…

 “Uh…hi…” he mumbles, digging in his pockets. She never thought she would see anyone so uncomfortable enter Starbucks. “My friend wants something, but it’s kinda…dumb.”

Hana snorts.

“How so?” Kiyoko asks. The guy stares at her when he finally looks up. She stares back. His face is oddly gentle for someone that looks like they could win several street fights. Even though she used that comparison, she doesn’t think he would hurt a fly. To both of their surprises, Kiyoko smiles warmly at him. “It’s fine if you don’t remember all of it. I’m sure I can guess what he wants.”

It takes him a few moments to realize he actually has to talk. “Uh yeah. Uh he said something about chocolate and espresso” he jumbles out.

“That’s good—we’ve gone from 23 to…” She closes her eyes as she does the math in her head. “…a single digit number.” Well she tried. Math is not her best subject. She’s not sure why she tried to impress this guy just then. “Did he say he wanted hot or cold?” she asks.

The guy thinks about this. “He said something about frauppy whatever,” he answers.

Kiyoko chuckles. “Cold then.” She reaches for one of the cups, but stops herself. “Did he say what size?”

“Whatever’s fine. Er no—give him the biggest. It was my idea to buy him this so I should treat him,” he says.

She smiles again. “You’re very kind to your friend. You two must be very close.” Kiyoko ignores the wry grin Hana gives her when she gives her the cup.

He nods. “We grew up together. He’s stuck at home because he injured himself so I wanted to make him feel better.” The guy looks surprised that he was able to say this without stuttering. “He’s the closest friend I have so…uh…yeah…” he looks away, running a hand through his hair.

“Does he also play a sport?” Kiyoko asks. “I can tell you’re by your physique that you must be on a team.”

He blushes at this. “Uh…yes. Volleyball.”

“I was the manager of my high school volleyball team. So did Hana.” Kiyoko gestures to her friend.

“Yeppers.” Hana passes him the finished drink. “It looks fun.”

Kiyoko nods. “I hope your friend gets better soon.” She raises her eyebrows when the guy slouches.

“…he…can’t play anymore…” he mumbles. No wonder he’s treating him, Kiyoko thinks. But seeing the guy bite his lip and glare at the ground made her feel terrible. He’s hurting along with his friend.

“I want to make you feel better,” Kiyoko blurts out. All three of them are surprised by the outburst. “Do you want something? I know it won’t help…but…” For once, Kiyoko doesn’t know what to say.

The guy’s eyes are wide. His face reddens. “I don’t like coffee…”

“We have tea drinks too. Do you like tea?”

“I’ll take anything at this point,” The guy declares.

Kiyoko laughs. The guy and Hana stare at her. “I’ll make it a surprise then,” She says before getting to work. When she turns away from the guy, she lets out a small breath as she begins putting the drink together. “I’m assuming that your friend was on scholarship…does he have an idea on how to pay for his expenses?” She says over her shoulder.

“Uh no…I don’t know now that you mention it. He’s probably pushing it off as usual…”he grumbles.

“He can work here,” Kiyoko says when she finishes the drink. She hands it to the guy with another bright smile. “We need another barista. I know my boss will be fine with it.” There’s nothing wrong with using your psychology major to persuade your boss right? That’s why she wasted so much time in college right? Why does she want to keep talking to this guy? What’s going on??

“You would do that for him?” The guy asks, completely bewildered. Kiyoko doesn’t blame him. She doesn’t know what’s happening either. He takes a sip of his tea and grins. “You’re a nice person.”

Kiyoko’s eyes widen. “We have to talk again,” she blurts out again. “So I can get your friend’s info…” Her face is starting to get warm. She hears Hana snicker beside her.

The guy nods eagerly. “I WOULD LOVE TO,” he covers his mouth; his ears are turning pink. “I mean for…for my friend.”

“Holy crap,” Hana says beside them. No one hears her.

Kiyoko writes her number on a napkin and hands it to him. He sets down one of the cups to write down his number and his name.

“Iwaizumi Hajime,” Kiyoko reads off.

He nods. “Shimizu Kiyoko,” he glances at the napkin.

“T…THANK YOU!” She bows.

“YOU’RE WELCOME!” He returns the gesture. With one last extremely awkward glance he practically runs out of the building. Kiyoko sinks to the floor.

“Hana…what just happened?” Kiyoko covers her face. “I don’t know what happened. He called me nice. He thinks I’m a nice person…”

Hana laughs and pats Kiyoko’s head. “Who knew you had sucha carnivore personality?” She laughs again as Kiyoko curls in a tighter ball.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's the end of the update!! YAAAY THEY MEET AND THEY'RE SUPER AWKWARD!! After i finished writing this chapter a few seconds ago, i reread the chapter on Oikawa's side where Kiyoko retells how she and Iwaizumi started dating and I'm cracking up at how nonchalant she sounds in comparison to this. oh kiyoko you can hide your extreme awkwardness for so long. Anywho i have work tomorrow so i'm going off to bed! my spirit told me to update this story so i did, but now i'm gonna be sleepy tomorrow. oh well. i'll sleep well tomorrow! thanks everyone for reading and enjoying not just this story but the ENTIRE SERIES!!! without your support i wouldn't have continued this story. i probably would've stopped in fear of not doing the characters right or something, but anyway thank you all so much. you're all wonderful people! next update will iwaizumi call kiyoko? will she call him?? whoooo knowwws?? haha see you next update!!


	6. Iwaizumi is making a god-awful noise in his room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iwaizumi tries to figure out what is happening in his life. Oikawa's here to help. Sorta.

Chapter 5: Iwaizumi is making a god-awful noise in his room

“What do you mean ‘what did I do’?” Oikawa shifts his phone to his other ear. “I didn’t do anything this time! He came in with a _chocolate_ Frappuccino when I specifically asked for _caramel_ ,” he sips his drink, “and then immediately went to his room and now he’s making this weird agonizing groan. It’s like I’m watching Game of Thrones but it’s only focused on those zombie people.” He listens to the voice on the other side. “Yes Makki, I am wearing the tiara and boa you gave as a joke gift,” he answers. “What do you mean ‘that’s the reason he’s screaming in pain’??”

Iwaizumi tunes out Oikawa’s phone call and lets out a heavy sigh. He sits up on his bed and looks at his Starbucks cup on his night stand. He chugged the tea literally after he stepped out of the coffee shop and now he wishes he savored it a bit more. Kiyoko made it specifically for him. He could go back there if he wanted, but he’s not sure if his heart can take seeing her smile again. All throughout their small extremely awkward talk, Iwaizumi was sure he was going to pass out from the amazingness that is Shimizu Kiyoko. God even her name is amazing.

Iwaizumi’s love life has been…horrible. He wishes that was an understatement but that’s the truth. It doesn’t help that Oikawa is his best friend—girls talked to Iwaizumi just to get closer to Oikawa. Then there was his face. So many people are afraid of his scowl—which he has realized is just his neutral expression—and how big and beady his eyes are. His dad is always frowning and somehow his mom fell in love with him so why can’t anyone find him likable?? At this point he just wants a girl to not find him scary (even though a relationship would be nice) and talk to him.

Kiyoko gave him that and so much more.

But what if she was being nice? It’s her job to be a nice barista or whatever. Hell she even got him to pay for two drinks instead of just Oikawa’s. He hesitantly grabs the napkin with Kiyoko’s number and stares at it. Would she go this far just for her job? He’s surrounded by assholes so he doesn’t know what nice people do anymore.

“MY BOA AND I ARE HANGING UP ON YOU MAKKI.”

Speaking of assholes…

Iwaizumi hears Oikawa grumble as he makes his way towards Iwaizumi’s bedroom. The uncomfortable, clunky noise of his crutches make Iwaizumi’s stomach churn. He still can’t believe this is the current state his best friend (and frankly one of the best volleyball players ever) is in.

“How’s my sexy beast~” Oikawa leans against Iwaizumi’s doorframe, fixing his boa. The tiara is a bit off kilter on his head now. Iwaizumi stares at him.

“You’re…a complete idiot,” he says in complete astonishment. It’s like every time he gives Oikawa a compliment, Iwaizumi’s able to be proven wrong within seconds.

Oikawa scoffs and rolls his eyes. “I compliment your looks and grace you with my presence and this is what I get? Back talk?” He laughs as he limps into the room and plops beside Iwaizumi on the bed. The crutches are dropped to the floor. Iwaizumi knows Oikawa hates them more than he does. “So what was all the wailing for? Was it because you realized you bought me chocolate when I asked for caramel? Because you did that. That actually happened.”

“You should be happy I decided to treat you in general.” Iwaizumi pinches Oikawa’s nose. “And no, I didn’t care about your coffee…” he mumbles, glancing at the napkin in his hand. He feels Oikawa lean over his shoulder.

“Shimizu Kiyoko?” Oikawa reads off. “Wait is that a number? WAIT IS THAT A GIRL’S NUMBER?”

“I DON’T KNOW.” Iwaizumi immediately stands up. He knows his ears are pink because they’re getting warm. “I WENT IN TO GET YOUR STUPID THING AND THEN I GOT YOU A JOB AND A GIRL’S NUMBER? I DUNNO WHAT HAPPENED. AND SHE WASN’T SCARED OF ME! SHE WAS NICE! AND SHE SAID I WAS NICE AND HER NUMBER IS IN MY HANDS.”

“Wow…” Oikawa says after a minute passes. “And she made you something also?” He points at the Starbucks cup on the nightstand. Iwaizumi nods. “Huh,” is all he says.

“THAT’S IT? HUH??” Iwaizumi starts pacing. He’s not sure when this habit started but there have been many days where he’s walking around the room ranting about something to Oikawa. He doesn’t let Oikawa speak, “WAS SHE JUST DOING HER JOB AS A STARBUCKS LADY OR WAS SHE BEING NICE TO ME FOR A DIFFERENT REASON? WE’RE ALL ASSHOLES SO I DON’T KNOW.”

Oikawa snorts. “‘Starbucks ladies’ don’t hand out their personal phone numbers.” He tugs on Iwaizumi shirt to make him stop moving. “Nor would they give someone they’ve never met a job. I’m thinking she’s actually interested in you.”

Iwaizumi’s eyes widen. He turns to Oikawa who grins at him. “No shit?”

Oikawa laughs. “Yeah, you charmed her Iwa-chan!” He pulls Iwaizumi back to the bed. “What was she like? I want to hear how this went down.”

“Uh well she’s humongous for one,” Iwaizumi starts. Oikawa snorts at this. “And she’s got long hair and a mole by her lip and she wears glasses and her voice reminds me of, like, a bird.”

“Wow, that’s almost poetic. What kinda bird?”

“Uh…like a pretty one? I dunno shit about birds.”

Oikawa sighs. “The poetic moment’s gone…”

Iwaizumi ignores the comment. “She helped me try to remember whatever you wanted and she smiled at me. She’s super pretty anyway, but when she actually smiled…” he trails off as he remembers the sight. “I couldn’t believe it was aimed at me. I almost felt like I didn’t deserve her attention…and then she laughed!  Hearing it was like hitting a spike for the first time.”

“A volleyball reference?” Oikawa says. “How romantic.”

“Shut up. It’s the only way I can say it right,” Iwaizumi grumbles, his face reddening. “When I hit a spike for the first time I felt really happy because that was the first time you tossed to me and it was nice that I was able to make a point with you.” A small smile reaches his face. “I feel like I helped her laugh or something…” 

Oikawa sniffs and looks away to wipe his eyes. “My darling Iwa-chan’s in love…he’s going to be an adult soon…” he says.

“Are you crying?”

“Shut up Iwa-chan. My leg’s in a cast so I’m more hormonal than usual.”

Iwaizumi snorts. “You’re not pregnant. That’s not how injuries work.” His face reddens again when he realizes what his friend said. “And I’m not in love with her! I’m just…it was nice meeting her…is all...” he mumbles.

Oikawa turns around with a huge grin on his face. “Sooooooooo?”

“What.”

“Are you going to call her or what?” Oikawa sighs.

“I can’t call her. She’s probably still working now!” Iwaizumi says. “And she might be busy…forever…”

Oikawa rolls his eyes. “People aren’t busy forever, Hajime. If you don’t call her, I will and I’m going to say you wet the bed until you were ten.”

“That was _you_.”

Oikawa shrugs, another grin spreading across his face. “She doesn’t know that.”

Iwaizumi lets out a loud groan as he falls down on his bed. He covers his face. “You’re so nosy…”

“Oh, you have nooooooo room Mr. Gossip Queen,” Oikawa easily counters.

“Says the guy wearing a crown.”

“Excuse you, Iwa-chan. All Grand Kings dress this way.”

“Wow, I didn’t know Grand Kings can be appeased by accessories from Claire’s.” Iwaizumi easily catches Oikawa’s swatting hand. He inwardly chuckles to himself. Hopefully he distracted his friend long enough to stop bothering him about it.

“Call her or I’m taking several pictures of you with my Claire’s accessories.” Oikawa sticks out his tongue.

“Dammit…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO! Haha it's been a while! I've been finishing up Fire Emblem Fates and writing some other stories. Anyway HAPPY 100 HITS!!! WHOOO! I think this story hit 100 waaay quicker than the other two which is extremely cool! Thank you all every much! One thing I've realized in this series is the different ways we see Oikawa. In his story we sorta side with him since we see what he's thinking and all that, in Suga's he's sorta this cool role model-y kinda guy, and in Kiyoko's/Iwaizumi's (I'm thinking of changing the title to like the year Shimizu Kiyoko and Iwaizumi Hajime Meet or something along those lines. haha i'm trying to keep my naming convention going) Anyway Iwa-chan isn't good at describing his feelings unless they're in volleyball terms. Like a test he forgot to study for is as painful as missing a spike or missing a receive. Also Oikawa's Claire's accessories came from my visit to that store recently (I buy my ear clips there teehee) and i happened to see a boa and a tiara and thought "...he would." Haha onward to the next chapter!!!


	7. Kiyo-chan you know how to talk to guys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kiyoko has a small realization.

Chapter 6: Kiyo-chan you know how to talk to guys

“I know I know how to talk to guys, Reiji…” Kiyoko mutters, hugging her pillow tighter. It’s been an hour since she’s gotten off work and she’s been too focused on checking her phone. She almost burned her dinner in the microwave and she almost stubbed her toe and good gracious she has never felt this anxious in a long time. Now she’s curled up on one side of her couch.

“WAIT HOLD ON I’M JUST NOW REGISTERING WHAT YOU SAID!” Her brother exclaims. “ARE YOU ROMANTICALLY THINKING ABOUT THIS GUY?”

“I gave him my number…does that mean anything?” She asks. She flinches when Reiji gasps loudly on the phone. “Reiji-niichan??”

“Nonono I’m sorry Kiyoko. I was so shocked that I accidentally poured hot water on my hand…” He chuckles. “Giving someone your number can mean two things—friendship or romance. It all depends on how you feel about this guy…”

“He called me nice…” Kiyoko mumbles. Her eyes wander over to the coffee table where a picture of her mother sits. She reaches for it and gazes at her mother’s face. There are a total of two in her small apartment. One at the small at the small altar in the corner of the living room space and the one she’s holding now that usually sits in her bedroom.

_“You’re the nicest Kiyo-chan!”_

Kiyoko’s eyes widen. A faint memory of her and mother comes to mind. She was around five and the two of them were having a tea party. Most little girls might be happy with a pastel colored dress to have at a tea party, but Kiyoko wouldn’t have it. Instead she wore a poofy black dress with a matching black ribbon pinned at the back of her head; she felt very fancy. The tea party was in her mother’s bed; Kiyoko gave her mother her teacup before pouring some imaginary tea in it.

“Aren’t you going to have some, Kiyo-chan?” Her mother asked.

Kiyoko shook her head. “I want you to have all of it. Tea makes people better and you’ll be better!” She smiled.

Her mother laughed. “You’re the nicest Kiyo-chan!”  

“Kiyoko? You still with me?” Reiji asks. He slurps his tea loudly, to Kiyoko’s disgust. She’s not a fan of any mouth noises.

“Uh, yes, but repeat what you said please…” She answers.

Her brother laughs again. “I said that’s a rare compliment. But don’t let it get to your head! We all know I’m the best! I mean allowing you guys to even get close to my amazingness is pretty gracious of me.”

She chuckles at her brother’s silliness. How he’s trusted to be a chef, she’ll never know. “Modesty is something you’ve yet to comprehend, Niichan.”

“Kiyo-chan, you’re still too direct,” Reiji mutters. “Is your guy friend even interested in that sorta thing? I know some guys are like super spineless and hate having girls be straight with them.”

Kiyoko loosens her grip on her pillow and sets her mother’s picture back on the table. “He’s also very direct, so I think I’m fine in that regard.” She sighs. “He didn’t say anything about my appearance.”

“Neat!”

“And he made me laugh.”

“NEAT!!”

She laughs. “I concur.”

“Oh! I got to hear your laugh too just then! Aw, you sound different already Kiyoko,” Reiji says. “Your laugh kinda reminds me of Mom’s. Well I guess that’s kinda dumb to say since we’re all related and whatever…”

Kiyoko smiles. “No, that’s very nice to hear, Niichan.” Her phone buzzes. She checks it to see a number calling. “Oh I think he’s calling…” Her chest tightens.

“FIGHT KIYOKO FIGHT!” Reiji cheers before hanging up.

Kiyoko stares at her phone screen. She lets out a small breath and answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yaay more Reiji! I haven't locked down on his age yet, but he and Kiyoko are closer in age than their oldest sibling Hideo so they talk to each other a lot. Also woah! Child Kiyoko memory!! I had a lot of tea parties as a kid and sometimes my mom dressed up for them, but those are some of my fondest childhood memories! I wanted to put that happy memory in this story (don't worry though, my mom is still with us haha). For some reason in my stories I always have one character wear black and in this one it's Kiyoko. It's a stylish color though so...*shrug* LETS GO TO THE LAST PART OF THIS UPDATE. *THE PHONE CALL*


	8. The Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Call me~ On the liinneeee! you can call me call me anytime

Chapter 7: The Call

“This is Shimizu Kiyoko.”

_“OH COOL YOU ANSWERED! I MEAN OF COURSE YOU DID THIS IS YOUR NUMBER AND IT’S NOT LIKE YOU WOULDN’T ANSWER ITHAHAHA”_

“Haha, hello Iwaizumi-kun.”

_“Uh hi! Hello! Uh…hi.”_

“Hi.”

_“Are you uh busy or something? Should I call back? Or should I never call? Or should I stop talkingahahaha…”_

“I’m not busy. I hope you keep talking or this would be a very odd conversation.”

 _“Right…_ ”

“That was a joke. I meant what I said, but it was supposed to be funny. I hope that was worth a small laugh…I’m not a funny person…”

_“Haha I get it. I’m not good with jokes either—I SEE YOU IN MY DOORWAY SHITTYKAWA.”_

“…Shittykawa…?”

“ _OH! I’M SORRY ABOUT THAT! UHH THAT’S MY FRIEND OR RATHER **A NUISANCE THAT SHOULD STAY IN HIS ROOM**.”_

“Oh.”

_“I’m sorry for him. He’s oddly quick even though he’s got one leg in a cast…”_

“What’s his name? I don’t think you said it earlier.”

“ _Oikawa Tooru.”_

“Oh! I know of him. He was in a lot of sports magazines for a long time. That means you two went to Seijou then?”

“ _Uh yeah we did.”_

“Now that I think about it, I think I remember seeing you two at a match…”

_“Oh right! You were the manager for your team! What school did you go to?”_

“Karasuno.”

_“Hmmm…I remember playing them several times, but I don’t remember seeing you there.”_

“It makes sense. You beat us terribly. Also, you were a first year so it makes sense you wouldn’t see me.  By that time I already passed my role to someone else. I was in the stands.”

_“Oh you’re older than me? I MEAN I’M OKAY WITH THAT. AND YOU DO HAVE THAT MATURE LOOK ABOUT YOU BUT THAT’S NOT BAD EITHER.”_

“Haha, it’s fine. But yes, I’m older than you. Twenty-two.”

_“I’m still nineteen. Guess I sound like a brat to you, huh?”_

“That never crossed my mind. Do I sound like an old lady to you?”

_“No not at all!”_

“See? Age is just a number. Granted, twenty two isn’t that old. Thank you for the compliment, by the way.”

_“Huh?”_

“You don’t mind my ‘mature look’.”

_“OH HAHA NO I THINK IT’S COOL AND STUFF…Uh Shimizu-san?”_

“Yes?”

_“Why did you give me your number?”_

“Hahaha…I’ve been wondering that ever since you left. I’m not an impulsive person. I like thinking things through and I’m calculated to a fault. But after talking with my brother, I finally realized the reason.”

_“What…what is it?”_

“You saw past my appearance. Most people see me as a pretty face or as someone who’s standoffish. It’s been that way ever since I was a kid.”

_“That’s shitty.”_

“I’ve learned to live with it. Plus I had my family. That’s why I wanted to talk to you again. You saw a piece of my personality…and I wanted to share more of it with you.”

_“WOAH. HOLY SHIT.”_

“I’m sorry! Is that too forceful? I haven’t made a friend in a long time and my brothers keep telling me I’m too direct with my feelings! I’m very sorry if I made you uncomfortable!”

_“NONONO! NO. Shimizu-san, I’m just really surprised. Hearing all this is new for me too. People think I look scary so no one’s ever felt comfortable enough to even say hi to me aside from my friends and teammates. E..especially a girl…”_

“Wait, girls don’t like you?”

_“…you're really direct, Shimizu-san…”_

“Haha you said it first.”

_“I know, but still hearing it so blatantly…but no girls don’t like me.”_

“I don’t see how. You’re handsome and strong.”

_“UHHAHAHA THANK YOU?”_

“You’re welcome. Well if you want to talk to a girl…you can talk to me. It's funny because it's true.”

_"I got the joke, Shimizu-san."_

“That's good. I don't have a good sense of humor."

_"I can tell. I MEAN SHITTYKAWA SAYS I'M NOT FUNNY. I WAS TRYING TO SAY WE'RE THE SAME NOT THAT YOU SUCK AT MAKING JOKES SHIT I'M MAKING IT WORSE."_

"Hahaha! You're funny Iwaizumi-kun!" 

 _"...your laugh is very pretty, Shimizu-san_."

"T..thank you Iwaizumi-kun...I like hearing your voice, Iwaizumi-kun."

_"EHAHA THANKS."_

"I figured I would give you a heartfelt compliment since you gave me one. I apologize Iwaizumi-kun, but I have to go and study now. Finals are coming up and I want to make the highest grade.”

_“Haha, you’re ambitious.”_

“I like being the best…that no one ever was.”

_“DO YOU PLAY POKEMON?”_

“Yes, I do. I’ve played since I was a kid. It’s my only stress reliever.”

_“I ALSO PLAY POKEMON. POKEMON’S FUCKING AWESOME. WE SHOULD BATTLE SOMETIME. IF THAT’S OKAY WITH YOU!”_

“That sounds like fun, Iwaizumi-kun! My brother’s stopped playing and Hana doesn’t play either. It’s been a bit sad playing by myself.”

_“I’ll send my friend code! Oh but you’re studying…I guess I should also study for exams…”_

“How…how about this? We can uh…meet up…soon…and play…together…and study. Since I’m a senior I can help you with stuff…if you want to do that…and we can talk more…and play Pokémon…”

_“YEAH THAT’S A GOOD IDEA. I WOULD LOVE TO TALK TO YOU SOME MORE…and study…and battle…and talk…”_

“How about Wednesday?”

_“Wednesday’s good for me!”_

_“Uh Shimizu-san?”_

“Yes?”

_“I’m uh…happy we met.”_

“So am I…T..THANK YOU.”

_“YOU’RE WELCOME.”_

“GOODBYE.”

_“BYE SHIMIZU-SAN.”_

“SEE YOU WEDNESDAY.”

_“YEAH SEE YOU THEN.”_

“G…GOTTA CATCH THEM ALL!”

_“YEAH GOTTA CATCH ‘EM ALL!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHOO! Writing their awkward conversations is actually kinda hard because i'm afraid it might be too boring. But anyway whoo! they're meeting up again! I'm going to cut this a/n short so i can finish some more Suga chapters (it may or may not update tonight we'll see) next update kiyoko and iwaizumi start noticing each other on campus and they try thinking through their feelings and then the pokemon battle study almost-a-date outing! Haha see you all then! Thanks again for all of your wonderful support!


	9. In the Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oikawa's not as glamorous as he pretends to be.

Chapter 8: In the Night

Iwaizumi is awake when he hears a loud thump in Oikawa’s room. He quickly jumps out of bed and reaches his friend’s bedroom in a matter of seconds. One of Oikawa’s crutches is near the door and all of his pillows are on the floor; Oikawa quickly covers his face when he sees Iwaizumi.

“Go away!” His voice is muffled by his hands. There’s a loud sniff. Iwaizumi frowns as he starts picking up the pillows and crutches. “Go away Hajime. I don’t want to see you.” Oikawa wipes his eyes.

Iwaizumi places the pillows by the headboard and the crutches underneath the bed. “Was it the same nightmare?”

“Leave me alone…”

“Tooru, you can’t throw shit around and expect me to just go back to sleep.” Iwaizumi sits on the bed. “Which one was it this time? The one legged one or the…” his breath hitches. “The death one…”

“…death one…”

Ever since his injury, Oikawa has gotten nightmares. Iwaizumi usually hears about them the day after when Oikawa tries to casually slip them in conversation. There’s two main ones—one where his injured leg is completely ripped from his body and another where he sees himself wearing his Aoba Johsai jersey in a casket. No matter how hard he tries, Iwaizumi can never get Oikawa to open up about them.

“Hajime…please leave me alone…I don’t want to talk or anything…” Oikawa mumbles, his face still covered. He sniffs again and wipes his eyes with his sleeve.

Iwaizumi forces himself to leave the room. Gritting his teeth, he slouches back to his bed. He closes the door and curses. He can’t do anything to help his friend. Oikawa’s always been there for him and now he can’t do shit to fix this. Iwaizumi gets under his covers, but fails to go back to sleep.   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO! I'm back with a huuuuge update for this story! I'm leaving for a vacation soon and all of the stories are getting a huge update before I go! I finished These chapters last night but my internet is kinda wonky (if this keeps up i'll probably update while I'm on the train) so I'm uploading now while it's still okay. Anywho this update is a bit of a ride so buckle up. In this chapter we see the underbelly of Oikawa and Iwaizumi getting over the injury. I reread some of the beginning chapters in Oikawa's story to see the difference in his attitude and it's like he matured and backtracked at the same time. Anyway let's get to the next chapter!!


	10. Passing By

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things aren't going Iwaizumi's way.

Chapter 9: Passing By

“…have fun at practice,” Oikawa says when Iwaizumi passes him. Iwaizumi stops at the door and looks at his friend. Oikawa is on the couch with his cast raised on the coffee table. On either side of him are huge bags of potato chips and cookies. Iwaizumi scowls. He doesn’t like seeing this. Oikawa was never one to snack. If he did, it was always something healthy like fruit; he enjoys being physical fit. This isn’t the amazing Oikawa Tooru he grew up with.

“You want the boa and crown back on?” Iwaizumi asks after a while.

Oikawa snorts. “Why’re you asking that? That’s a weird thing to ask.” He stuffs a handful of potato chips in his mouth and angrily chews them. For that few minutes he’s been blindly searching for the remote in the couch cushions to no avail.

Iwaizumi doesn’t answer. Instead he leaves for Oikawa’s room to retrieve the accessories. When he comes back, Oikawa’s turned away wiping his eyes with a loud sniff. Iwaizumi almost breaks the plastic tiara in anger. Why did this have to happen? “Hey,” Iwaizumi nudges Oikawa’s shoulder. He carefully places the tiara on Oikawa’s head and drapes the boa around his shoulders. “You said Grand Kings wear this stuff. So you gotta wear it…because you’re still one to me.”

Oikawa’s eyes widen and his mouth opens slightly in surprise. He covers his eyes and laughs loudly. Oikawa being the guarded person that he is, hates crying in front of others. Iwaizumi wishes he could see his friend’s tears. It’s a weird thing to ask for, but he feels as though that would give his friend some sort of closure. “Shut up! You’re sucha sap. How am I friends with sucha sap?” Oikawa reaches with his other hand and playfully hits Iwaizumi’s stomach. “You’re so sappy you should be maple syrup.”

Iwaizumi feels a huge smile spread on his face. That’s the Tooru he grew up with; the one that’s been his backbone for so many years. “You’re the sap for getting all emotional so early in the morning.”

“Touché,” Oikawa says, uncovering his face. “You mind putting the cookies up? They’re shit in comparison to mine. I don’t know why you bought them.” He hands Iwaizumi the potato chip bag also.

Iwaizumi rolls his eyes. “Because you never feel like making them…” he grumbles as he takes the bags away. After putting them in the cabinet he searches the fridge for any leftover fruit. He finds an orange and tosses it to Oikawa. He easily catches it. “I even bought all you needed or whatever and you keep saying you’re not in the mood.”

“Can’t help if I’m in a cake phase.” Oikawa starts peeling the orange, biting his lip in concentration. “And you weren’t complaining when you had _two_ slices of my chocolate swirl cake last night.” He gasps when Iwaizumi tips the tiara askew on his head. “MEAN IWA-CHAN!” He yells as Iwaizumi closes the door.

Iwaizumi sighs when he leaves his apartment building. Volleyball practice has definitely been a huge downer since his friend’s accident. Not only is Oikawa feeling terrible, but they don’t have a good setter anymore. Luckily volleyball season is already over. The train ride is a lonely one. When he takes his seat, Iwaizumi realizes that he doesn’t have any close friends aside from Oikawa and the rest of his teammates from Aoba Johsai. He’s okay with this, but at the same time he’s not. It’s a weird feeling. At the moment he’s the only one living with Oikawa and constantly sees how the injury is affecting him. He’s happy the rest of Aoba Johsai have time to visit Oikawa when he’s not there, but he’s unsure if he can tell them what he’s feeling. He’s not sure why he feels this way since they’ve known each other for so long…weird is the only way to describe his thoughts. What’s even weirder is that he wishes that he and Kiyoko were close enough so that he wouldn’t feel so alone. Another sigh comes out of him when it’s time for him to get off the train. Because he doesn’t necessarily have the desire to get to practice early, he takes the extremely long way to the volleyball gym. The campus is a huge circle essentially, and instead of taking his usual left at the first crosswalk leading to his college campus, he takes a right.

As he continues on his roundabout way to practice, he notices some of the people he passes. A boy stiffens when he turns to him. Two girls pass by whispering incoherently while glancing in his direction. Iwaizumi continues trudging along the sidewalk. People seem to do the same thing when they’re nervous: their eyes widen slightly, and then they quickly look to the side to be ‘polite’. Sometimes they cross their arms or clench their fists but it’s always when they look away that gets Iwaizumi. Sure today he’s not exactly jumping for joy, but he’s not going to bite someone’s head off. He doesn’t want like a huge ‘how do you do’ either. Just a simple look to acknowledge that he exists and that’s all.

When he rounds the corner his breath hitches. Kiyoko and her friend are walking toward him reciting something. Once again she’s wearing all black; a simple t-shirt, jeans, and heels (because apparently she isn’t tall enough) but to Iwaizumi she looks like a supermodel. Well, he’s pretty sure that a lot of people think that but that’s beside the point. He can barely bring his legs to move when he sees Kiyoko blow air at her bangs in frustration. That…was so cute… He inwardly groans. Oikawa’s right. He _is_ turning into a sap, but he can’t help it. He’ll call Kiyoko cute as many times as he wants because she is goddammit.

Yet again he feels as though all the air in his body is gone when Kiyoko looks in his direction. Her eyes widen in surprise and a warm smile spreads on her lips. Iwaizumi is frozen in place. It was this smile that made him a puddle of emotions at Starbucks. She doesn’t turn away from him. She’s knows he exists…and she’s happy about it.

“Hello Iwaizumi-kun,” Kiyoko greets when they reach him. She brushes her hair past her ear. “I’m not sure if I introduced her before, but this is my friend Misaki Hana.” She gestures to the redhead beside her.

“Hiya.” Hana grins.

“Uh hi…” Iwaizumi mumbles. Now he feels like he has to talk to the both of them so he won’t seem rude. “What are you guys doing here so early?” That’s a dumb question.

“Studying!” Hana answers.

Kiyoko nods. “We have an exam today on Adolescent Psychology. We’re going over Piaget’s theory at the moment and I keep messing one part…” She sighs. “We took the long way to reach our classroom to get more study time.”

Iwaizumi feels very stupid. He doesn’t know what the hell a Piaget is. Kiyoko watches him expectantly. “That’s…cool…” He mentally curses when he sees Kiyoko fidget at his response. “I’m taking the long way too! I don’t really feel like going to practice today…”

“I didn’t like waking up for morning practice either,” She replies easily. “Of course it was easier when I was a manager and not on the basketball team.”

Hana snorts. “Oh geez you’re bringing up too many memories for me, Kiyoko. It’s been like forever since we were managers.”

Iwaizumi is surprised at how uncomfortable he feels. He has so much to say and yet so little. Kiyoko isn’t that much older than him, but he can’t help but feel extremely juvenile to her. She’s so put together and he’s just scrambling to make things work. He bites his lip. “I...better get going…” He forces out before running past them.

He curses as he continues sprinting down the block. When he goes around the corner he gets enough courage to take a peek behind him. He catches Kiyoko turning away. Her smile is long gone and her friend is patting her shoulder.

“Fuck…” Iwaizumi kneels down to the ground, hitting his head. “You’re sucha fucking idiot.”

Iwaizumi’s day gets worse when he arrives late for practice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Noooo Iwaizumi! Don't put yourself down!!!! Also I don't know if it's noticeable in this chapter, but I made Kiyoko speak more formally. I feel like out of all of the characters she would rarely use slang and stuff like that. Anyway onward!!


	11. Older Women

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's no 'I' in team.

Chapter 10: Older Women

Iwaizumi has been running laps around the volleyball gym ever since he arrived late. He passes by his teammates who are supposed to be practicing passes outside. They’re not.

“Go Iwaizumi go!” Kuroo calls.

“You’re almost to 100 bro!” Bokuto yells.

Daichi sighs. “I’m surprised he doesn’t have to do another 100 for yelling at Coach…”

Iwaizumi is also surprised by this. Their coach is well known for his punishments so he’s not sure what crazy divine intervention gave him just 100 laps. He wasn’t thinking when he yelled, ‘YOU MIND FUCKING OFF FOR A COUPLE SECONDS’ when he was getting lectured. His mind was still going haywire over his stupidity earlier that morning and the added yelling was giving him a headache.  

“ONE MORE LEFT BRO!” Bokuto cheers as Iwaizumi passes again.

“He might be the fastest runner out of all of us,” Daichi says.

Kuroo laughs. “And the dumbest.”

Iwaizumi turns around to flip Kuroo off before rounding the corner.

He’s been thinking about a lot of things during his punishment. Of course it’s all connected to one person. He guesses Kiyoko’s taking her exam now. God, what if he screwed over her concentration by his awkwardness? Why does he clam up around her? It didn’t help that her friend was grinning ear to ear while he tried to form sentences. Oh god what if they’re laughing at him or something. He’s such an idiot!! Falling for someone just because she smiled in his direction. She’s just being nice that’s all. She laughs around him because she thinks he’s an idiot and immature and she blushes because she’s embarrassed for him.

_Well if you want to talk to a girl…you can talk to me._

_You’re handsome and strong._

_I like hearing your voice, Iwaizumi-kun._

He slowly stops running. Kiyoko is a mystery to him. Why is she nice to him out of all people? She could get any guy she ever wanted and she gave the scary guy her number.

“Iwaizumi!” Daichi calls, waving a water bottle. “Get hydrated!” He tosses it to him. The teammates watch Iwaizumi slowly walk over to them and chug the water. “Is something on your mind? You usually don’t go off the handle like that.”

“Did someone call you short?” Bokuto asks. Iwaizumi’s answer is throwing his now empty water bottle at his owlish teammate. “SAYING NO WOULD’VE BEEN FINE.”

Kuroo’s eyes narrow. “Is Oikawa okay?” Daichi and Bokuto tense up at the question. They were there when Oikawa fell apart. What’s worse is that Oikawa doesn’t want to meet with anyone from the team. Iwaizumi assumes it’s because Oikawa doesn’t want another reminder of what happened. Oikawa still calls Bokuto and Kuroo whenever he feels like flirting with someone, but aside from that Oikawa has almost made his presence disappear from the team’s minds. The terrible thing is that Oikawa’s presence is so huge that his lack of response is making it even bigger.

Iwaizumi shakes his head. “No, he’s fine. I mean he’s kinda okay but he’ll live.” He bites his lip. Kinda is an understatement, but he doesn’t want to worry them. On the other hand he’s not sure if these three are the best to solve his romance problem. There’s no one else to turn to. “So there’s a girl I’ve been talking to sorta…” His ears start getting warm.

“Oh my god,” Kuroo blurts out. “Are we finally close enough friends to have romance talks?”

“Holy shit we’re Iwaizumi’s friends!” Bokuto lets out a loud whoop. If their coach needs evidence that they’re slacking that was definitely it.

“NEVERMIND.” Iwaizumi starts storming back inside.  

Daichi laughs, pulling him back toward the group. “Now now Iwaizumi, you got us all curious. Nothing wrong with a little gossip to show how much we mean to you.”

“Daichi, I thought you were above this,” Iwaizumi mutters.

“I’m still human. Plus it’s not worth practicing with these two. They always start goofing off,” Daichi says jabbing his thumb in Kuroo’s and Bokuto’s direction.

Kuroo gasps loudly. “Daichi you wound me! Bokuto’s the one that keeps tossing the ball in crazy directions!”

Bokuto rolls his eyes. “Yeah, and Kuroo totally didn’t agree to buy me lunch for the rest of this semester to do that so he can get alone time with you—OW SHIT” He screeches when Kuroo throws the volleyball at his face. “FUCK YOU KUROO.” They start chasing each other yelling insults at each other.

“I’m listening,” Daichi turns away from them. “Who’s the girl you’re ‘sorta talking to’?”

“Uh well…she works at Starbucks and she helped me buy something for Assikawa. And she’s super nice and she has a pretty laugh AND SHE PLAYS POKEMON!” Iwaizumi rambles out.

Daichi whistles. “Woah that’s quite the catch. So what’s the problem?”

“She’s a senior…and like smart…”

“Aren’t you majoring in _physics_?” Daichi asks.

“BUT I DON’T KNOW WHAT A PIAGET IS.”

Daichi laughs heartily at this. “And?”

“And…I feel like we might not be a good match…she seems so in control with her life and I’m not. I mean…I couldn’t even stop Tooru from hurting himself—”

“Woahwoahwoah!” Daichi makes a timeout signal with his hands. “No one’s blaming you for what happened to Oikawa.” Iwaizumi notices that the loud yelling has stopped. “That was an accident.”

“ _That I could’ve stopped from happening_ ,” Iwaizumi mutters. “I didn’t try hard enough.”   

“Hey, I don’t think our residential princess would be happy to hear you blame yourself,” Kuroo says. “What’s done is done. You can’t use that as a reason to not talk to this mystery girl.”

“Yeah! Oikawa’s gonna have a fit if he hears you say this. And then he’ll go behind your back and call her up and cause all kinds of shit,” Bokuto says, tossing the volleyball high in the air. Iwaizumi agrees…causing ‘all kinds of shit’ is Oikawa’s forte. Hilariously enough one of Oikawa’s pet peeves is being a scapegoat. ‘Yeah it’s a weird thing to hate but I don’t like getting in the way of people’s feelings’ is what Oikawa told him when Iwaizumi asked about it one time.

“Plus you like this girl, right?” Daichi asks. “And she likes you so it’s all good in the hood.”

Iwaizumi snorts. “Wouldn’t associate you with that phrase, Daichi.”

“I was literally just about to say that.” Kuroo snickers. “Oh my god that sounded so cute. All good in the hood…”

“What’s with you guys? I can say things!” Daichi crosses his arms. “Just because I don’t swear doesn’t mean I don’t know young people phrases.” He grins when Kuroo leans against him cackling.

“ _YOUNG PEOPLE PHRASES?_ ” Kuroo sputters out.

“You’re so hip, Grandpa Daichi,” Bokuto say with a huge grin.

Iwaizumi shakes his head at his teammates—er friends. That’s got a nice ring to it. And they have a point—maybe he’s just overthinking everything. Of course once he starts crowding your mind with too many thoughts it’s hard to stop cold turkey. A part of him isn’t sure what to say to smooth things over. Hopefully Kiyoko forgot about it so he doesn’t have to bring it back up. But that’s a wuss way of doing things and Iwaizumi Hajime is no wuss.

Which is why he told Coach that his friends weren’t practicing like they’re supposed to.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YAY FOR TEAMMATES!! Also hey we get to see Daichi outside of the whole love triangle he's in with Oikawa and Suga. He's a pretty cool dude! Kuroo and Bokuto are pretty cool people, huh? It's like they're so cool that...they should get their own story soon...am I right? 
> 
> (...I'm saying that there's a surprise dealing with those when I'm done uploading these chapters)


	12. Younger Men

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Afterward Kiyoko started wondering what adventures Girlfriend Girl could have.

Chapter 11: Younger Men

“I CAN’T BELIEVE HE ADDED QUESTIONS THAT WEREN’T EVEN ON THE STUDY GUIDE!” Hana ruffles her hair. “WHAT A DICKBAG. DOESN’T HE KNOW THAT WE HAVE TO GRADUATE SO WE CAN GO BACK TO SCHOOL TO GET A BETTER DEGREE SO WE CAN HAVE A DECENT PAYCHECK WHEN WE START OUR JOBS!?”

“It was mean of him,” Kiyoko’s voice is much softer in comparison to her friend’s. The two of them are walking toward the Starbucks on campus (she’s surprised she has yet to hate coffee since she works there). Kiyoko opens the door for her ranting friend with a sigh. “I’m worried Hana.”

Hana momentarily stops yelling. “Oh no Kiyoko, you think you failed??”

“No,” Kiyoko says quickly, giving her a thumbs up. “I knew most of the answers on the test and the bonus questions. A high A is secured.”

“…Kiyoko I know you’re not being arrogant, but I can’t help but feel ticked by this…”

Their conversation pauses when they order their coffee. Afterward, they take a seat at a table near the window. Hana pulls out notes for the exam they just took and starts flipping through them. Kiyoko looks out the window and watches some students pass by. She lets out another sigh when she thinks about what happened earlier that morning.

“It’s about Iwaizumi-kun…” She continues. “I feel like I might have made him upset.” She puts her hands to her face and rubs them. “I’m so _oooollld._ ” Is she feeling wrinkles or is it her imagination?

“You’re only twenty two.” Hana doesn’t look up from her notes. “Dammit, I missed that one…” she mumbles.

“He’s only nineteen,” Kiyoko counters. “And I think he’s scared of me. I’m a scary person,” she says, her hands still on her cheeks.

Hana looks up. “You look like that kid from Home Alone.” She laughs when Kiyoko lowers her hands with a small glare.

“So many people think I’m intimidating. I don’t know why…” Kiyoko mumbles. When their order is called, she leaves to grab both of their drinks from the barista. “Can you think of any reasons?”

Hana sips her coffee, staring at Kiyoko intently. “You’re really tall, you look like a supermodel, it’s hard to tell what you’re thinking even when you clearly say it, you’re super straightforward, you only wear black—”

“I hoped you would stop with three things, Hana.”

“Sorry, I got on a roll,” Hana laughs. Kiyoko wonders if her friend just wanted to list her faults. “What’s weird is that they’re not bad things per se,” Kiyoko smiles at this. Hana always knows what she’s thinking. “But people never get to know you so they think it’s bad traits. Like when you complain about guys hitting on you people think you’re bragging but you’re more annoyed that guys are just trying to fuck you and call it a day.”

“That’s a way of putting it, Hana.” Kiyoko almost choked at the crude phrasing. “He said he liked my mature look on the phone…was he lying to me?”

“Nah, he looks incapable of lying. Plus he never looks away when he’s speaking. You know when people lie they look away or cover their mouth or whatever,” Hana says.

Kiyoko agrees that Iwaizumi is probably just as honest and straightforward as she is. Then why did he run away? Was it because she was going off about her psychology class? She didn’t really want to talk about it, but that was on her mind at the moment. Maybe she’s overthinking things.

“I don’t see how you and Seiji-kun handle all of this. You’re a superhero Hana,” she tells her friend.

Hana shrugs. “Call me Girlfriend Girl. Actually don’t. That sounded waaay better in my head.” She smiles when Kiyoko laughs. “And Seiji and I have our miscommunications. It’s just something that always happen between two people. All that matters is that it gets straightened out.”

“Right!” Kiyoko pumps her fist. “I’ll make sure to straighten him out.”

“Kiyoko that sounds like a threat…”

She beams at her friend. “Thank you Girlfriend Girl.”

“Be glad that I enjoy seeing you happy to not get mad at that.” Hana reaches over to hit Kiyoko’s head with her notes.

“Hana you hit me anyway…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kinda wish Kiyoko and Hana met in canon. I feel like they would be really fun since they have two different personalities. Of course my version of them is different than their canonical selves, but I still think they would be friends of some sort if they met. Let's go to the next chapter!!!


	13. We’re Just People

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our starcrossed lovers realize they're making things too awkward.

Chapter 12: We’re Just People

Kiyoko would be lying if she said her heart didn’t jump in her throat when she saw Iwaizumi walking toward the train station. Well in reality hearts _can’t_ do that so she guesses she _isn’t_ lying…either way she became extremely excited and anxious when she saw the spiky haired boy. Heels are not a problem for her; she easily catches up to him and grabs his arm.

He whips around with a manic look on his face. Ah, she was so excited she forgot to call out to him. His already wide eyes seem to get wider when he recognizes Kiyoko and his ears start getting pink.

“Shimizu-san…I didn’t know you were the type that liked scaring people…” Iwaizumi says.

She quickly lets go of his arm. “I’m sorry Iwaizumi-kun. I didn’t mean to scare you. I was only thinking about how much I wanted to see you and I didn’t think about getting your attention.”

Iwaizumi’s face reddens at the statement. He fidgets under her stare. “Uh...so...”

“Don’t go home yet,” She blurts out. “We have to talk.” Before Iwaizumi can get a word out she grabs his hand and leads him to one of the mini parks on campus. Since it’s the beginning of exam week, there aren’t many students lingering around. Kiyoko figures this is the best place to have a private conversation. Instead of leading him to a one of the tables, she stops behind the biggest tree in the park. A part of her is a bit ticked for walking so quickly; she has to let go of his hand now. Huh…she never thought _that_ before… “Uh I apologize for being so forceful…” she mumbles, playing with her fingers.

Iwaizumi shakes his head. “No I like it!” He says. “I mean it’s fine. I mean…I have something to tell you also…so I’m glad I ran into you.” He lets out a heavy breath.

The two of them stare at each other silently. They each have a lot to say, but they’re worried of cutting the other off.

“I’m sorry!”

“I apologize!”

They stare at each other.

“What?”

“What?”

They mentally curse at their timing. What is this, a comedy skit?

“You may go first, Iwaizumi-kun,” Kiyoko says.

“I’m sorry for being weird earlier…” Iwaizumi mumbles, scratching the back of his neck. “I uh didn’t want to be weird…it just sorta happened. I’m sorry.”

Kiyoko slowly nods. “May I ask why you were uncomfortable?”

“God it’s a lot of things…” Iwaizumi sighs. Kiyoko frowns. “Nonono it’s not you, it’s me. It really is! I’m not saying that to sound even more like a douche or something.” He covers his face with a groan. “I always say the wrong things around you and I feel like an idiot…and I know we’re not far apart in age but I can’t help but think you got everything sorted out. I think you’re amazing and I’m not that. I’m sorry that I can’t be as cool and smart as you—”

“I’M SORRY I WAS BORN BEFORE YOU!” Kiyoko exclaims, gripping Iwaizumi’s shoulders. His eyes widen. “I hate that we both keep thinking about it.” She bites her lip when Iwaizumi doesn’t respond. “I don’t want to say I wish we were the same age, because I would have different memories and different memories. I’m sorry I’m intimidating. I’m not sure how I can fix that. I never know when people are scared of me.” She notices his hands twitch at this. Did that strike a chord in him? “But I still want to be older because we probably wouldn’t have met if we were the same age. I mean I want Hana to still be my friend and I liked making you tea the other day is what is I’m trying to say.” She feels her face burning and for some reason a bit breathless. A lot of words came out of her mouth just then and she’s not used to it.

“Shimizu-san…” Iwaizumi says after a moment of silence. “You’re weird.” He laughs. The sound makes her feel at ease.

“So are you…” she smiles. “We’re both apologizing for something we can’t help, Iwaizumi-kun.”

He nods. “Yeah…we’re just people aren’t we?”

“Yes, we are.”

They stand in their comfortable silence. She looks down at her shoes, fiddling with her fingers.

“Are you happy we met?” Kiyoko asks quietly.

“Hell yeah,” Iwaizumi answers. She looks up with a bright smile, her eyes twinkling. Iwaizumi tries not to have a heart attack. “I uh…didn’t mess up your exam did I?”

“No matter what happens, I’ll always make an A on my tests, Iwaizumi-kun.” She laughs. Iwaizumi is trying very hard to keep his composure. “If I may be so bold, you act older than your age. I can tell you’re a very caring person—especially when you spoke of your friend…and when you speak…in general.”

“Uh thanks…” His face reddens.

“I hope he’s recovering well.”

He nods. “Uh yeah, he is. He has his ups and downs though…practice isn’t as fun without him.”

“That’s understandable,” she says. A part of her wants to reach out and hold his hand again. “How are _you_ , Iwaizumi-kun?”

Iwaizumi’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise. Aside from his friends, people usually ask about Oikawa’s condition. He’s not saying he’s jealous or anything, but with the burden he’s placed on himself he has wished someone gave him a pat on the back once in a while. “I’m…barely holding up…” He mumbles.  

Kiyoko’s eyes soften. She could understand that feeling. Not knowing how big of a hole you’ve put yourself in until you’re buried alive—she’s been feeling it for a while, especially since visiting her family. “It’s nice of you to think that I have everything in order. I guess that’s one perk of being older—you naturally assume that.” Kiyoko looks up at the tree branches. She wonders when they’ll start to bloom. “I hide so many things, Iwaizumi-kun…sometimes I feel as though I’m going to burst.” Something inside her makes her want to tell everything she’s been feeling to Iwaizumi. Maybe because he’s so honest…?

Iwaizumi flinches when Kiyoko meets his stare. Her mouth is in a thin line, her face is reddening and her voice breaks when she asks,

“Iwaizumi-kun, would it trouble you to come to my apartment?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha I actually thought this scene out at work. Fun fact! When I write anything I have to act it out first to see if it sounds natural. So...some of these things I've said aloud haha. Woah it sounds like Kiyoko's got something huge to say. Let's find out in the last part of this huuuge update!!


	14. Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The start of something new.

Chapter 13: Trust

Iwaizumi is confused when he follows Kiyoko to her car. He is even more confused when he gets in the passenger’s seat. His eyes are wide as she turns on the engine and pulls out into the street.

…everyone is going to go bananas when they hear about this. Which reminds him…he needs to text Oikawa he won’t be back for a while. After sending his message, he immediately gets one back.

_ EHHH WHERE ARE YOU I’M HUNGRY AND I WANTED TO EMBARRASS YOU BY PRETENDING TO CHECK YOU OUT WHILE YOU HAD YOUR APRON ON.  _

_I’m going to Shimizu-san’s apartment. Call someone to get you takeout. Shinji’s inn is like right there._

_ Woah wait really? You and this Shimizu Kiyoko are getting comfffyyy~ _

_Shut up. We’re just…actually I have no fucking clue why I’m going to her place. She just asked and now I’m in her car._

_ Omg what if she kills you? What if she’s an axe killer? CHECK THE TRUNK.  _

_…she’s not a murderer. I think she wants to show me something._

_ The axe she kills people with.  _

_I’m done talking to you._

_ Terrible choice of last words Iwa-chan.  _

Iwaizumi doesn’t respond to him. Instead he sends a text to Hanamaki/Matsukawa (they’re always using each other’s phone so he never knows who he’s talking to) to buy Oikawa dinner before putting his phone away. Once again he can’t help but think how cool Kiyoko is when he watches her drive. He twitches when she catches him staring.

“Were you talking to your friend? Oikawa-kun was it?” She asks.

“Yeah. Usually I’m home at this point…” Iwaizumi answers. “Not that he can’t get someone else to buy him food. Plus he can get around on his crutches…”

“May I ask you something, Iwaizumi-kun?”

“Sure…”

They stop at a red light. Kiyoko takes this chance to look him in the eye. “Why did you tell me about Oikawa-kun’s situation? I was just a stranger and you trusted me with that information.”

Iwaizumi mulls this over. He has a reason, but isn’t sure he can say it properly. “I felt like I could trust you is all…you smiled at me…” A part of him really hates that Kiyoko has to look at the road again when the light is green.

“I’m happy to hear that…” is all she says.

Iwaizumi is extremely unsure of what to think since she falls silent. As he looks out the window Iwaizumi realizes that Kiyoko lives not too far from his apartment. He could visit her often! If…if she’s okay with that... When they make it to Kiyoko’s apartment complex, Iwaizumi notices her hands clench by her sides. She’s steeling herself, he thinks. Without a word, she leads him to her apartment. The sound of her high heels echo in the hallway and in Iwaizumi’s mind. He almost bumps into her back when she stops abruptly at her door.

“I trust you too,” Kiyoko says, taking out her keys. She glances over to smile at him. “I want to tell you something important. If that’s alright with you.”

Iwaizumi can only nod. Kiyoko returns the gesture and opens her door. She kicks off her heels and waits at the door for Iwaizumi to untie his sneakers. One look around the main room of the apartment and Iwaizumi blurts out, “THIS MESS IS UNNACCEPTIBLE.” He covers his mouth when Kiyoko’s eyes widen. Shit. That was supposed to be in his head. Iwaizumi imagined Kiyoko’s apartment to be impeccably clean. Instead there were several jackets hanging on almost every chair in the room, numerous hair ties _everywhere_ , and several stacks of books and papers lining the walls.

Kiyoko tries to cover her mouth when she lets out a loud laugh. The sound is music to Iwaizumi’s ears. She hunches over and tries to collect herself.

“I would say I’m sorry, but I hate cleaning. This is who I am, Iwaizumi-kun,” She says with a wide grin. Hell with a smile like that he can live in this mess. “Either way, what I want to show you is by the window…” Iwaizumi notices that her smile falters just a tiny bit.

He follows her to the corner of the living room to a small altar. His breath hitches when he realizes what he’s looking at. In the center he sees the picture of the smiling woman—the resemblance is uncanny. Kiyoko sits across from it with a small sigh.

“This is my mother. Shimizu Kumi,” she says. “She passed away when I was six.”

“I’m sorry…” Iwaizumi whispers as he joins her on the floor.

“I don’t remember her too well—just memories here and there…but she was very kind and funny. She made us laugh all the time. I wanted to be just like her. She was from a farming family so she didn’t have a desire to go to college until she started raising my brothers and I,” Kiyoko explains, closing her eyes. Iwaizumi looks down at her hands—they’re in tight fists. “Dad always told us she liked asking for our opinions on things. Apparently she loved how we all had our own thoughts and actions.” She lets out a breath and slowly opens her eyes. “One day she announced she was going to college to a degree in psychology. Unfortunately, she passed away before she could even start.”

Iwaizumi is frozen stiff when he sees tears prickle the sides of her eyes. He could see why someone could say Kiyoko is emotionless. Her voice is rather flat, and her face doesn’t show a huge range of expressions. Seeing this side of her made Iwaizumi make his stomach turn in knots and his heart flutter and every other sappy thing in those romance novels Oikawa likes to read.

Kiyoko trusts him enough to show her true emotions.

“…it’s nice hearing you think I have everything under control…” She sighs. “All I’m doing is chasing someone else’s dream. That’s all. I guess if you want to be morbid you could say I’m chasing a phantom, but I want to see how she saw things.” She wipes her eyes. “And I’m not saying this to belittle your emotions about Oikawa-kun. I can tell you’re upset.” Kiyoko bites her lip as she tries to think of the right things to say. “I just wanted to show you I’m also distressed…I mean I’m okay but…I mean—” A small gasp comes out of her when Iwaizumi hugs her tightly.

“I still think you’re cool…” he mumbles into her shoulder. “You like what you’re doing whether it was your mom’s dream or not. You still like learning about it and you got your friend with you and you get to say smart things!” He squeezes tighter. “You can be sad with me all the time. I’ll like you even more!” He feels Kiyoko flinch at this.

“Iwaizumi-kun…you’re so direct…” she says, letting out a small chuckle.

He loosens his grip, but keeps embracing her. “Tooru likes pretending he’s fine. He always has. He cries at the drop of a hat, but he’ll never tell you when he’s really depressed.” He feels Kiyoko rub his back. “I’m sure he knows that I can tell he’s putting up a good face, but I can never get him to admit it. Then he has nightmares and he won’t let me hear about it…”

“Volleyball is very important to him,” Kiyoko says.

“Yeah. You should see him when he watched matches—his eyes get all huge and he takes in everything. And geez he practiced like he was terrible or something. He always stayed later than everyone else…he’s better than I am. He’s better than most people. Sometimes I wish I got hurt. I’m not as good as him.”

“I think you’re strong. Some people can’t bring themselves to try to find a way to comfort someone, but you’re trying. He knows you care.” Kiyoko starts swaying them from side to side. They’ve relaxed in each other’s arms with Kiyoko leaning against the wall. “You’re a quiet crier, Iwaizumi-kun.” Her shoulder has been getting wet for the past few minutes, but she doesn’t mind.

They fall into silence. Iwaizumi has stopped crying. Now that he has that off his chest, he finally realizes the position he’s in.

“…Shimizu-san…”

“You may call me Kiyoko.”

His face reddens. “K..Kiyoko…you’re very warm.”

She chuckles. “I am a mammal.”

“I know, but you’re oddly comfortable…”

“I am several inches taller than you, Hajime.”

Iwaizumi didn’t mean to scream when he heard Kiyoko say his first name, but that’s what happened. What’s worse is that she tightened her hold around him in shock and he heard her gasp in his ear. He wants to melt away.

“I’m sorry! Was that bad?” Kiyoko asks, letting him go. Iwaizumi mentally kicks himself. He scared her and now he’s not wrapped up in her arms.

“No that just…I dunno. Ignore that. That didn’t happen. Please say my name for a very long time,” he rambles out.

She laughs. “Alright then. I like hearing you say my name too. May I ask a small favor Hajime?”

“Uh sure…”

“When we meet up to battle…can it be a date?”

Iwaizumi forces himself not to scream again. “SURE YEP I AM TOTALLY COOL WITH THAT.”

Kiyoko smiles. “Excuse my selfishness, but I have another favor. Or rather I have to give you something, but I’m not sure how to properly…give it.” She chuckles at her nervousness.

Iwaizumi raises an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“Do you mind leaning closer, Hajime?”

He does what’s he asked and feels the lightest peck on his cheek. Kiyoko tries to cover her grin by biting her lip. Iwaizumi’s mind completely blanks.

“AGAIN.”

Almost.

“What?” Kiyoko laughs.

“A..AGAIN. DO IT AGAIN. I FORGOT.”

“You forgot?” She repeats, laughing louder. “It just happened!”

“YES. I WANT ANOTHER ONE.” He frowns when Kiyoko continues laughing at him. So he decides to take matters in his own hands. Kiyoko lets out a squeaking noise when Iwaizumi brings her face closer to his. Her eyes widen when their lips meet for the briefest moment.

Iwaizumi quickly scrambles to the other side of the living room, his ears bright red. Kiyoko stares at his back, slowly bringing her knees up to her chest. Another giggle bubbles out of her.

“Hajime, you’re impatient,” she says.

He turns around and sticks his tongue out at her. “YOU TOOK TOO LONG SO…WHATEVER.” When she keeps laughing he turns away again to hide the goofy smile on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AND THAT'S IT! WHOO! WHAT A RIDE! EMOTIONS! LAUGHTER SADNESS LOVE IT'S ALL HERE. Actually I flipped flopped about having this come so soon, but it's a known fact that these two get together verrrrrry quickly. Of course they haven't said they're officially dating but hey at least they know the crush is mutual. Also yaay finally I can write them like they are in the other stories! I enjoyed writing extremely awkward Kiyoko/Iwaizumi but I missed writing extremely comfortable with each other Kiyoko/Iwaizumi. Don't worry though, they'll still be awkward. (especially Iwaizumi.) Alrighty! Like I said before this is the huge update before I go outta town so this story is on a mini hiatus until I come back home! Thanks everyone for reading and supporting! You're all cool and neato and SUPER AMAZING! If you're curious about some of the deleted scenes and sneak peeks for this story, head on down to my fanfiction tumblr ciswritesfanfiction.tumblr.com !!! There's already some goodies there for you all to enjoy! Thanks again for reading and look out for the huge updates for the other stories!! And haha I did mention the surprise featuring Kuroo and Bokuto didn't I? 
> 
> GUESS WHO HAS THEIR OWN SIDE STORY~~~ THE KUROO SIDE STORY IS LIVE! At the moment it's just one chapter but there will be more up soon. I just wanted to surprise you guys. Anyway see you all next update!!!


	15. The Call 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another awkward phone call.

Chapter 14: The Call 2

“Hello Hajime.” She smiles.

_“HI SHIM—KIYOKO. HI KIYOKO.”_

“I’m happy you called, but I wasn’t expecting it. Did you leave something at my apartment?”

 _“Oh no, I didn’t. Uh I was just wondering…what are we?”_ He fiddles with his fingers.

“Last time I checked we were humans. I am female and you are a male.”

_“No. I mean, yes we are, but I mean our uh relationship…”_

“Oh.”

 _“Yeah_.”

“That’s a good question actually.” She chuckles.

He laughs loudly. _“I thought you would know!! You’re the one with all of the psychology knowledge.”_

“True, but the books don’t go over everything. I guess we are friends that find each other romantically interesting.”

 _“R..romantically interesting?_ ”

“Yes. I’m saying that I find you attractive, but I don’t know much about you.”

_“KIYOKO DON’T KILL ME BY JUST SAYING THAT.”_

“It’s true. I like saying what I mean, Hajime.”

_“I CAN SEE THAT. AND I’M THE SAME WAY BUT YOU MIGHT BE A FUCKING NOTCH HIGHER THAN ME.”_

“I’m assuming the feeling is mutual since you kissed me earlier.”

“ _KIYOKO STOP YOU’RE MAKING ME TOO EMBARRASSED AND I BET YOU’RE NOT EVEN REACTING.”_

“I’m blushing.” Even though there’s no one else in the room or in her apartment for that matter, she covers her face. “You…do like me, right?”

_“HELL YES. YOU’RE REALLY INTERESTING AND I DON’T MEAN THAT IN A BAD WAY BUT LIKE YOU’RE SMART AND YOU CRIED IN FRONT OF ME AND I DON’T MEAN THAT IN A WEIRD ‘I TAKE RESPONSIBILITY’ THING I MEAN I LIKE WHEN PEOPLE SHOW THEIR TRUE EMOTIONS AND I THINK YOU’RE PRETTY WHEN YOU DO THAT.”_

She’s completely shocked. “…that’s a lot.”

_“…yeah…sorry…I got carried away I guess…”_

“No, your excitement shows how much you like me. I’m happy.” Her face is starting to hurt from how much she’s been smiling already.

_“I’m happy you’re happy.”_

“On our date, I’m going to bring snacks. I’m not good at cooking, but Hana agreed to help me. Since we’re studying, I thought it would be nice to have a little break to replenish our brain power.”

_“Oh I can bring something too! Oikawa bakes stuff. I’ll steal some of his cake for us.”_

She laughs. “Alright then. We can meet up at the library around eleven.”

_“Cool. See you then, human female that I’m attracted to and I would like to get to know.”_

She laughs again. “See you, human male that I’m attracted to and I would like to get to know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO! We're back! But it's just one update...I'm sorry! I wanted to update more, but I didn't get the chance because of two big announcements!!! WE HAVE TWO MORE PARTS TO THIS SERIES! YAAY! and the last two. yaaaay! The fifth stars Keishin and Saeko trying to understand parenthood, and the sixth and last is just a one shots fic. If there's some characters you wanted to see more of in this au you can request them over there yay! Let's talk about this chapter! Kiyoko and Iwa-chan are getting ready for their pokemon study date!! ...there's...not much to say actually...aside from they're getting better with their awkwardness. they're trying! Next time we'll actually have the date and kiyoko playing basketball. finally! i've referenced her playing and never showed how good she was and it's finally time to learn why she got the nickname *INVINCIBLE* Also, we're close to the end of this story. Even though it has "The year" in the title, it's mostly about Kiyoko and Iwaizumi meeting since in Oikawa/Suga/Kuroo's storylines we actually see the two of them act more couplely there...if that makes sense. I haven't numbered it yet but if i have to make a guess from my story outline we have...6ish more chapters? maybe 7 or 8? we're very close haha. Anyway that's all from me for now! Thanks for stopping by! Please enjoy the new installments of the series and I'll see you all next time!!!


	16. Seijou Third Years

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My goal is to make Seijou the silliest group of guys in existence.

Chapter 15: Seijou Third Years  

“Wait how come you’re not studying for exams, Tooru?” Iwaizumi hears Hanamaki ask from his room. Since Iwaizumi is going out on his… _date_ … wow he’s going on a date…with a real girl… ANYWAY… since Iwaizumi will be out for most of the day Hanamaki and Matsukawa volunteered to watch over Oikawa.

“I dropped all of my classes because I’m switching majors next semester. LOOK OUT WORLD—LAWYER TOORU IS LEVELING UP TO SPACE TOORU!” Oikawa cheers.

“That sounds like a downgrade…” Matsukawa replies.

“TAKE THAT BACK MAKKI! I WON’T NAME A STAR AFTER YOU WHEN I FIND ONE.”

Matsukawa snickers. “When you find one? Last time I checked they’re super easy to find when it’s nighttime?” Hanamaki laughs loudly at this.

“IWA-CHAN KICK THEM OUT,” Oikawa calls. “IWA-CHAN COME IN HERE AND SAVE ME!”

Iwaizumi smiles to himself. He wonders if Oikawa has caught on that they’re not watching over him because of his leg but for his mood. Whenever Oikawa is by himself, he somehow is able to make himself feel worse than he needs to. He’s someone that needs to be surrounded by people he likes to make him happy.

Huh, Iwaizumi could go into psychology himself. When he gets finished putting on his clothes, he grabs his book bag and walks out of his room. Oikawa is once again wearing his tiara and boa. Iwaizumi tries not to feel self-conscious when his friends stare at him. Matsukawa, busy with drawing another dick on his friend’s leg cast, is the last to look up.

He gasps loudly. “HOLY SHIT A FUCKIN BUTTON DOWN,” He yells.

“Damn it’s gonna be some pro as fuck Pokemon battling today!” Hanamaki says.

Oikawa continues staring at the button down short sleeved shirt his friend is wearing. It’s not like Iwaizumi doesn’t wear them…he just…chooses to wear something else. “Were you not answering because you momentarily forgot how buttons worked?” Oikawa asks, grinning.

“Fuck all of you to the ends of the earth,” Iwaizumi eloquently replies.  “And we’re going to be studying and I wanted to look decent.”

Oikawa laughs. “Because when we study together your heart boxers are reeeeaally decent, Iwa-chan.”

“Go to hell.”

“You’ll be next to me~”  

“Go to the part where I’m not going.”

Matsukawa goes back to drawing on Oikawa’s cast. Since Oikawa is getting off soon, he needs to cover it with as many dicks as possible. “This is a strong friendship.”

“It should be fucking framed,” Hanamaki replies.  

Oikawa waves his friend goodbye. “Go! Fight! Win!” He chants, clapping his hands. “Catch the girl! Study the pokemon! Kiss her randomly again!” He laughs when Iwaizumi reddens.

“WOAH WAIT YOU KISSED HER?” Hanamaki’s eyes widen. “YOU CAN KISS PEOPLE?”

“YOU FUCKING LEFT THAT PART OUT MOM!” Mattsun says. “MOMS DON’T LEAVE OUT DETAILS.”

“Best friend benefits~” Oikawa sings, flipping his boa over his shoulder.  “Iwa-chan is my friend with benefits~ but we don’t kiss each other~ we kiss other girls in their apartment and awkwardly tell their friends about it yeah yeah yeaaaaah~”

Iwaizumi has never left his apartment faster. How did he become friends with these guys?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO! I'm back with another update! Alas, the pokemon date is not in this update but we do get some juicy stuff in these two chapters. I wanna make the pokemon date as good as possible!! Anyway let's talk about this chapter!! Because the next chapter is a bit sour, i wanted to have a nice little chummy moment between the third years! I actually forgot that in this story, Oikawa has on a tiara and a boa on. Also space tooru! He changed majors during this time! Being a lawyer was a choice he made on the fly to be impressive/he chose law to keep him busy before he turned pro but we know how that ended... He's very happy to never take a law class ever again. Also he'll get out the cast soon and finally meet Kiyoko. It's going to be a hoot when they meet at Starbucks. Things are slowly falling into place!! Let's go to the next chapter!!!


	17. Bullies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not everyone's a nice guy

Chapter 16: Bullies

When Iwaizumi reaches the library, he sees Kiyoko talking to some guy. His brown hair naturally sticks up and there’s a scummy grin on his face. Kiyoko’s brow is furrowed. She clearly doesn’t like him.

“Shimi—Kiyoko!” Iwaizumi calls out, jogging over to her. “I’m sorry I’m late.”

Kiyoko’s face immediately brightens. Iwaizumi tries not to turn into mush at her dazzling smile. “You’re fine, Hajime. Leave Kurokawa.” She turns to the guy beside her.

Kurokawa laughs. “That’s so adorable that you still call me by my last name. We’ve known each other for so long.”

“I only knew you through the volleyball team. You were the captain and I was the manager. Even then I didn’t talk to you,” she responds coolly. “Please leave,” she repeats.

“Who’s this guy?” Iwaizumi asks, eyeing Kurokawa.

Kiyoko lets out a small sigh before smiling at Iwaizumi again. “This is Kurokawa Hiroki. Unfortunately he’s a classmate of mine from high school,” she explains turning away from Kurokawa. Iwaizumi has never heard Kiyoko sound so ticked before. Her smile doesn’t reach her eyes. “He’s leaving. Let’s be on our way Hajime.” Her hands are curled in tight fists. She really doesn’t like this guy for some reason.

“Woahwoah Kiyoko-chan,” Kurokawa says.  

“ _Shimizu_.”

“Shimizu-chan,” Her eyebrow twitches. “Where ya going with this small fry? You’re tutoring him or something?” Iwaizumi grits his teeth. Small fry his ass…but he doesn’t want to start a fight in front of Kiyoko.

“If I say yes, would you leave?” She asks.

“Wow you’re as giving as you are beautiful!” He swoons. Iwaizumi flinches when Kiyoko clicks her tongue. Kurokawa grins as he reaches to touch Kiyoko’s shoulder. “I hope you can give me something tonight—” He stops when Iwaizumi grabs his hand.

“ _Don’t touch her._ ” Kiyoko’s eyes widen at Iwaizumi.

Kurokawa raises an eyebrow. “Mind your business dumbass. If she didn’t want me to touch her she would say so.”

“ _She has. Maybe if your ears stuck out like your hair you’d be able to hear shit. Then again your head’s so far up your ass you probably wouldn’t hear anything anyway.”_ Iwaizumi glares at Kurokawa, his grip tightening on the older boy’s wrist. He’s trying his hardest not to cause a scene. He doesn’t want to scare Kiyoko.

Kurokawa gets his hand out of Iwaizumi’s grip. “It’s not like she means it. Kiyoko-chan likes acting tough but she’s…” he makes a show of checking her out. Kiyoko crosses her arms over her chest. She regrets wearing a strapless dress today. “ _…softer_ than she appears.” That’s it. Iwaizumi’s had enough with this shithead.

He explodes. “FUCK OFF. SHE DOESN’T LIKE YOU AND IF YOU KEEP GETTING IN THE WAY OF OUR DATE I’M GONNA BEAT YOUR ASS.” Kiyoko quickly grabs his arm before he can gear up for a punch. Some students are looking around them. A blonde guy smoking by the library entrance, Kiyoko recognizes him as the male librarian, watches them closely blowing out smoke.

“What the hell…? You’re going on a date with this guy?” Kurokawa asks.

Iwaizumi growls, “This guy has a name Fuckbrain. Iwaizumi Hajime. Take your turd ass outta here.”

Kurokawa looks completely appalled by Iwaizumi. Kiyoko is still glowering at him.

“I second that, Kurokawa,” She replies smoothly. “Unless you want a bigger commotion.”  

He glances around to see people staring at them. His eyebrow twitches. “Whatever shrimpy. You’re tough because you got her for now, but she’ll come to me soon enough.” He saunters off. Kiyoko sees the male librarian step on his cigarette before going back in the library.

Kiyoko quickly grabs Iwaizumi’s hand to stop him from beating him up. Instead Iwaizumi flips off Kurokawa’s back. Kiyoko sighs heavily. Iwaizumi curses under his breath. He ended up causing a scene anyway.

“I’m sorry about that…” he mumbles, scratching the back of his neck.

“Good job Hajime!” Kiyoko grins at him, giving him two thumbs up. Iwaizumi tries not to crumble at the sight. How can someone so stoic be so adorable??? “I deeply hate him!” She says happily. Iwaizumi has heard of the phrase ‘deeply dislike’, but not ‘deeply hate’ nor as he heard someone say it so excitedly.

“He’s a dick.”

“He is.” She frowns. Iwaizumi internally laughs at how easily she agreed with him. “He’s someone that’s stuck in the past. We’ve grown up from high school…he hasn’t.” She lets out a small sigh. “I’ve learned to talk to my past classmates whenever I run into them, but I will _never_ be nice to him. He doesn’t deserve it.” She bites her lip. Iwaizumi isn’t sure if he should ask what Kurokawa did to make her so angry. He guesses in the grand scheme of things it doesn’t matter because Kurokawa simply existing is annoying enough for him.

“You are very accepting of Tooru-kun,” Kiyoko says with a smile. “I wish more people were like you.” Before Iwaizumi can respond, she quickly turns around and heads toward the library.

Iwaizumi follows silently. He really hates that Kurokawa guy.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oooOOOOoooOOOOOh...now why would i introduce this guy? HMMMMmmMmmmmmMm...
> 
> Haha does anyone remember him? He was in like a flashback in season 2 and i wanna say that he was an asshole then too. Didn't he say that the then second years daichi, suga, and asahi weren't going to win or something? I meant to watch the episode he's in to make sure of that...well either way he's an asshole here. Like i said last chapter...things are coming together...ohohohohoho. That's it for this update! Next time the date FINALLY and Kiyoko playing some basketball MAYBE? haha i wonder if you guys can guess why she's called *Invincible*??? (it might be kinda easy to guess though...) ANYWAY! THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!!! SEEEE YOU ALL NEXT TIME!


	18. Pokemon Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gotta catch'em all!!

Chapter 17:Pokemon Date

Kiyoko’s not sure why they said they would study. She’s also not sure why they actually brought their homework with them.  

“Huh, that’s an interesting move to use…” She mumbles, putting more popcorn in her mouth.

Iwaizumi snickers. “You mean it’s the best move.”

The two of them are sitting on opposite ends of the table in the study room they booked playing on their 3DS consoles. What’s funny is that they did set out their textbooks in front of them in hopes of actually studying but that clearly went to waste.

“Is your favorite type fire, Hajime?” Kiyoko looks up from her game. Iwaizumi meets her gaze and flushes.

“Yeah…” He answers. “How’d you guess?”

“I noticed that most of your team has at least one fire type move,” Kiyoko replies. “At first I thought it was a way to cover your bases in case your Blaziken gets knocked out, but now that we’re on our second battle I see it’s a preference.”

“Fire’s the best because it take out so many types easily!” Iwaizumi grins.

“Except water.”

“THEY’RE SUPER COOL LOOKING.”

“…and they can be easily doused.” Kiyoko smiles when her Politoed knocks out Blaziken. When Iwaizumi sends out Machamp, Kiyoko switches to her Espeon. “I prefer psychic types.”

Iwaizumi taps his finger on the table as he thinks of his next move. “Cause you’re a psych major?” He asks.

“I guess. I started playing after my mother passed so maybe you’re right,” she answers.

Iwaizumi clicks his tongue. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to…” he trails off.

Kiyoko smiles. “It’s fine, Hajime. I’ve gotten over it. You know, as much as I can.” She watches Iwaizumi switch out his pokemon to a Houndoom. “You should worry about my best pokemon—I didn’t bring her out last battle because she’s my show stopper.” Her smile turns into a wicked smirk.

Iwaizumi braces himself when he sees the Espeon sent back to her party. He’s not sure what pokemon Kiyoko has up her sleeve. After their first battle, they chose different pokemon to battle with. When he sees what Kiyoko brings out, he’s snorts. “Miltank?” He says when he sees the pink cow pokemon on his screen.

“Yes.”

“That’s your best pokemon?”

“Yes.”

“Are you kidding?”

“Nope.”

He switches back to his Machamp. Since Miltank is normal type, this will be a piece of cake. He looks up to see Kiyoko’s expression. A small feeling of confusion twists in his stomach when he sees the smirk still there.

“You’re easy to read, Hajime…” she says. “I knew you would switch back to your fighting type…” Miltank uses the psychic move zen headbutt against Machamp. Iwaizumi’s eyes widen when the move is a critical hit and knocks out his pokemon. “She’s holding a razor claw…” Kiyoko says, eating more popcorn.

Iwaizumi groans. He knows full well that a razor claw increases the critical hit ratio… He looks through his team and wonders which one would take down that blasted cow. Flashbacks of battling Gym Leader Whitney’s Miltank start coming back to him. He never thought he would have to face that terror ever again.

He groans he only has Golem and Houndoom left. He hopes that a good earthquake from Golem can take out Miltank. He sends his pokemon and sets his plan into motion. He’s surprised that his pokemon was able to move first. However it only gets Miltank down to almost half it’s health. If he were to do it again, it wouldn’t knock out. He groans.

Kiyoko snickers as she continues eating popcorn. “Normal types are my second favorite,” she says as Miltank uses a super effective fighting move against Golem. “They’re super adaptable you know?”

“I have never hated anything more in my entire life…” Iwaizumi growls. “You are so annoying right now.”

Kiyoko grins. “I haven’t gotten to the best part yet…” she says. Golem does another earthquake and like Iwaizumi predicted, Miltank endures the hit. “I’m sorry Hajime,” she says as Miltank uses the move surf and knocks out Golem.

“IT CAN SURF?” Iwaizumi exclaims, standing up from his chair and knocking it over. “IT’S A FUCKING COW.”

Kiyoko covers her mouth to keep herself from cackling. Miltank easily knocks out Houndoom, a fire dark type, with surf again and Iwaizumi is now pacing in front of her. “I’m sorry Hajime.”

“YOU’RE NOT!” Iwaizumi whips his head toward her.

She laughs loudly. “I’m not.”

Iwaizumi calms down when he sees her laughing. His chest blossoms and he feels his face flush again. “I’m winning the next one…” He chuckles, picking up his chair and sitting back down.

Kiyoko takes off her glasses to wipe her eyes. Iwaizumi doesn’t know how Kiyoko is able to look so amazing with her glasses on and off. Then again Oikawa is the same way. “You’ll have to give me some time to make a good team. I’m sure you want to train up to attempt beating my Miltank.”

“Fuck yeah, I do.”

“In the meantime, we could do another showdown,” She closes her textbook. “Tomorrow, if you’re free…do you want to play basketball?” She asks.

“Basketball?” Iwaizumi asks. That’s not what he was expecting.

Kiyoko nods. “Basketball. Unless you’re just a volleyball player.”

Iwaizumi grins. “Don’t worry Shimizu. I’m a whole bunch of things.”

“Of course…” She gets up from her chair and walks over to his side of the table. She sits on it before leaning down toward him. “…I want to see all of you…”

Iwaizumi doesn’t know if his heart stopped beating or not. He realizes he’s still alive when he feels Kiyoko’s press her lips against his. It’s another quick kiss and Iwaizumi feels like he can literally start vibrating by how happy he feels.

Kiyoko blushes, quickly looking away. “I apologize…that might have been a bit too forward…”

“NOPE. KEEP GOING FORWARD.”

Kiyoko turns back to him with a small smile.

“And I’ll beat your ass in basketball tomorrow.” He stands up with a big grin. “I want to see all of you too, you know.” He pecks her mouth again.

Kiyoko chuckles. “Don’t feel bad if you lose.”

“You should tell yourself that, missy.”

The two of them laugh at their attempts at intimidation, their lips tingling from the soft contact.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEEEELLOOOOOOOOO!!! IT'S BEEN A WHILE! A BIG UPDATE IS IN STORE FOR EVERYONE! THERE'S BIG UPDATES ACROSS ALL OF THE STORIES IN THIS SERIES TO CELEBRATE CHAPTER 1OO FOR THE YEAR OIKAWA LEARNS A LOT! I JUST WANT TO GIVE A BIG THANK YOU TO EVERYONE!!
> 
> Haha it's rather late so I won't be saying too much at the end of the other chapters. I might come back later today to add some notes. But other than that please enjoy the updates!!!
> 
> **Now that I'm awake I actually talk about the chapter! Whoo! So finally Pokemon date. I am a big pokemon fan (the newest game by far is the best one. im unsure how they're going to top it) and i apologize to those who have to look up what pokemon they're using and stuff like that. but hey! maybe you'll become a big fan of the game series too! Miltank is my all time favorite because its a tank and it can learn almost every type of move. It's the best, i love it so much. There's a reference to Whitney's Miltank in this chapter. In pokemon Silver and Gold and Crystal (crystal was the one i started with heehee) in Goldenrod City, the normal gym leader Whitney is notorious for her Miltank. Especially the move rollout. It could destroy your team single handedly. Talk to any pokemon player about Whitney, they will literally groan the entire time. I know on one of my games i have an all normal team but i don't have an all miltank team...i might try it out in one of my playthroughs... 
> 
> ANYWAY ASIDE FROM MY POKEMON TALK HAHA they're getting pretty comfortable with each other aren't they? Haha next chapter go!!


	19. Look Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's good to look at your surroundings.

Chapter 18: Look Up

“Hello Dad,” Kiyoko answers the phone.

“Hello Kiyo-chan!” Her father chuckles on the other side. “Just wanted to see how my favorite girl is doing. You haven’t called since you visited you know?”

Kiyoko pouts. “Sorry Dad…” she mumbles.

“Now now, don’t feel bad about it. I know you’re busy with all the schoolwork you’re doing,” he says. “Plus it gives me more practice with this phone so we’re even-Steven.”

She laughs. “Even-Steven.” She just came out of the bath so her hair is still tied up in a bun. Her white fluffy robe envelops her as she relaxes on the couch. “I actually have good news to tell you.” She smiles. “I’ve been seeing someone.”

“Oh?”

“His name is Iwaizumi Hajime…he makes me laugh and he’s a nice caring person….we’ve kissed three times,” she says, sitting up. “We played pokemon today and I won twice! We’ll play basketball tomorrow, but he doesn’t know my history in the sport. I can’t wait to see his reaction when I pull off my signature move…” she trails off when her father laughs.

“Kiyo-chan, you sound like your old self again,” he replies. Kiyoko’s eyes widen at the statement. Her gaze travels toward her mother’s altar. “I’m glad you’re doing fine, Kiyoko,” her father says. “I always worry if your head is too buried in books—sometimes you forget to look up.”

Kiyoko looks up. “I see the ceiling.”

“I bet there’s something new up there.”

“There’s a spider…” She frowns, getting up from the sofa. “I know that wasn’t a part of the life lesson, but thank you for telling me that,” she says after spraying it.  

He laughs. “No problem. I’m glad you’re determined, but I don’t want you to be like me. You know I had a habit of practicing for matches for weeks at a time.”

Kiyoko nods, but realizes her father can’t hear that. “Yes.”

“When I looked up, that’s when I saw your mother stuck in the rain…and the rest is history…” He laughs at this.

Kiyoko smiles. “Of course.”

“I hope everything goes well with this Iwaizumi-kun,” he says. “Out of curiosity, how tall is he?”

“He’s shorter than me, Dad.”

“Huh…if he visits he’ll get the shock of his life…”

“I know Dad.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was one of the first few chapters I wrote when I started this story. While the title talks about Kiyoko dating, i wanted the main focus to be about her stepping away from her busy life and opening up again. I really liked in the manga how we were slowly able to see Kiyoko open up! I wanted to attempt the same thing here. Hopefully this story has tried to achieve that goal!


	20. How do you feel about this girl Iwa-chan?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iwaizumi sorts out his feelings.

Chapter 19: How do you feel about this girl Iwa-chan?

Iwaizumi looks up from the bubbling stew on the stove. It’s still a bit chilly even though it’s spring and his best friend has been whining about soup so that’s what they’re having for dinner. Iwaizumi will never tell anyone this, but he enjoys spoiling his best friend.

“What do you mean?” He asks.

Oikawa continues playing Super Mario Galaxy on the television. “I mean, you play pokemon, kiss a lot, and now you’re playing basketball. This is some serious stuff, right?”

Iwaizumi shrugs. “I dunno…this is the farthest I’ve been with a girl. And you’ve only slept with people so you don’t know what true romance is like.” Oikawa reaches over to grab a pillow. “You might knock over your soup if you throw something at me, Dummikawa.” Oikawa begrudgingly puts down the pillow.

“Still didn’t answer my question, asshole…” He mutters, fixing his tiara.

Iwaizumi goes back to stirring the soup as he mulls over the question. “Well let me talk this out for you,” he says.

“Okay. Ready to take it in.” Oikawa snorts at his accidental innuendo.

“Whenever I talk to her, I feel sorta stable. I dunno before I met her, I’ve been feeling kinda…lame…” he scrunches up his nose, as he continues sorting his thoughts.

“Lame?” Oikawa asks. “I’m the lame one…” He glances at his cast.

“No,” Iwaizumi says. “Stop thinking like that. I’m the lame one because I could never reach your level and I feel like I’ve been a dick for not being a good friend to you…and I prefer to keep these things to myself…” He sighs as he starts ladling soup in a bowl for Oikawa. “I don’t know why. I guess to make me stronger I guess…”

Oikawa is silent.

Iwaizumi walks over to his friend and hands him the bowl. “I’m not angry at you or anyone…I just never told anyone anything. I mean I tell you things…but…” he glances over to Oikawa.

“No I get it. Keep going,” he says.

“I’ve known you forever so I feel okay…but after I met Kiyoko…I feel even better…” Iwaizumi finishes.

Oikawa blows on a spoonful of soup before slurping it. Iwaizumi smiles when his friend eagerly takes a second spoonful. “Didn’t know you were in love with this girl, Hajime.”

Iwaizumi almost drops his bowl. “ _LOVE?”_

“Yeah. You’re like goo-goo gaga over her. You literally said that she gives you something that I can’t give. I can’t love you like she can as much as it pains me,” he sighs loudly. “I want you to take care of me forever.”

Iwaizumi rolls his eyes. “I guess that means you want your cast to stay on forever.”

“FUCK NO!” Oikawa laughs. “I’m happy you found a lovely lady. Of course she has to pass my test. As your best friend, I want you to have the best.”

Iwaizumi snorts. “Of course.”

Oikawa licks the back of his spoon before asking, “…if you guys start dating…you won’t forget about me will you?”

Iwaizumi snickers. “Tooru, believe it or not you’re very hard to forget.”

“MEAN IWA-CHAN!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which I believe Iwaizumi has to ramble out his feelings to explain them. Iwaizumi is an interesting guy. I know we only see snippets of his point of view, but hopefully he sounds well rounded. To me he's the kinda guy that's strong and pretty smart (he's an engineering major in the story). However when it comes to his emotions and personal feelings, he can't easily explain them. I believe Oikawa is the same to a degree which is why he's very patient with him. Also because neither of them have had experiences with truly liking/loving someone they're completely at a loss at what to do. 
> 
> Haha hopefully that makes sense. Anyway onward to the next chapter!!


	21. Invincible

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY.

Chapter 20: Invincible

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Kiyoko asks as she continues stretching. “It might not be fun.”

Iwaizumi snorts. “Shimizu, I’m fine with basketball. I’m pretty good at most sports.”

“…you say that now.”

“What?” He blinks.

“…nothing.” She looks over her shoulder with a devious smirk. Iwaizumi’s ears start turning pink. Damn does she know what that does to him? She has to right? The blush spreads when Kiyoko starts tying her hair in a ponytail. She swings her arms and jumps in place, raising her knees as high as possible. “You ready?” She asks.

“YEP,” he forces out. Ready to crawl in a hole and die from how attractive this girl is.

She chuckles as she puts on her sports glasses. “First to twenty or else I’ll get bored. _And you wouldn’t want that would you?_ ”

Iwaizumi doesn’t know what the fuck he wants anymore. He almost forgets to catch the ball when Kiyoko passes it to him. “You’re making me go first?” He asks. She smiles at him. “You’re underestimating me.”

Kiyoko just shrugs.

Iwaizumi’s embarrassment is quickly overshadowed by his competitive nature. He dribbles past Kiyoko, unnecessarily bouncing the ball between her legs (he can’t help a little bit flourish. his best friend is the definition of the word), and quickly makes a basket.

“Oooh…” Kiyoko claps her hands. “Good job.” She laughs as she catches the ball.

“I don’t need your sass, Shimizu.”

“Of course not,” She says. If his competitive side didn’t find that annoying he would be turning into a puddle of goo from that.

Iwaizumi is a bit surprised at how quick she is when she starts dribbling to her side of the court. He’s able to catch up with her and block her shot. As he heads to his side of the court he checks back to see Kiyoko’s expression. She’s grinning. That toothy smile is enough to make him dunk the ball in the net. Hey that’s hot right? Dunking? Yeaaah…

“Ooooh…” Kiyoko repeats, picking up the ball. “You’re four ahead now.”

Iwaizumi grins. “You were big and bad yesterday. Where’s the trash talk now, Kiyoko?” He flinches when she laughs.

“I’m sorry Iwaizumi-kun.” She bounces the ball. “I wanted to give you a bigger lead before I started playing seriously.” _BEFORE SHE STARTED PLAYING SERIOUSLY??_ SHE WASN’T SERIOUS YET? She leans down to his level. “Here’s a secret: Not only am I the best in my grade…I’m the best in the prefecture.”

It is then Iwaizumi realizes that he has made a death wish.

Kiyoko easily gets past him, even copying his lame ass bounce the ball between the opponent’s legs trick, and shoots from the three point line. The clean sound of the ball falling in the net echoes in Iwaizumi’s ears. He’s done. Why did he do this? Why did he think he had a chance at beating her? He’s only able to have the ball for a couple of seconds before it’s quickly swiped from his hands. Kiyoko’s somehow faster than she was before and is already reaching the three point line and shooting. Another clean basket and she’s in the lead.

As Kiyoko’s lead rages on, Iwaizumi’s breath is getting more ragged and he’s getting more annoyed. Mostly at himself. Is he literally only good at volleyball? What the hell is all his jogging for if he can’t keep up?? What’s even worse is that Kiyoko looks as though she hasn’t broken a sweat yet. It’s when the score is 10 to 6 (he’s doesn’t know what crazy magic gave him the chance to score) Kiyoko asks for a small break.

“For me or for you?” Iwaizumi forces out before chugging his sports drink.

Kiyoko lets out a breathy laugh. “For both of us,” She answers. “Aside from volleyball were you other sports teams?”

Iwaizumi shakes his head. “Not really…I’m good at other sports,” or so he believed until today, “but in volleyball you sorta see teamwork in action.” He remembers the first day Oikawa tossed to him. They were in elementary school. Not only was it something they were both good at, but he could tell after that one spike, they were meant to be volleyball players. The ball Oikawa tossed felt perfect in his hands. “Volleyball is the only sport where you help your teammates see the sky…” he says.

“The sky?” Kiyoko asks.

“I’m shorter than Dummikawa, so people like making fun of me for it. Course I whip their asses, but on the court…he’s the one that makes me feel bigger than what I am,” Iwaizumi explains.

Kiyoko smiles. “That’s nice.”

“What about you? Have you always been the best in the prefecture or whatever?”

Kiyoko snorts. “No need for jealousy, Hajime. And no I was in track and field for a while before switching to basketball,” She answers. “I think after my mother’s passing I tried to do anything that kept me off of thinking about the mind. Distracting myself with physical stuff made since at the time. I don’t regret it though. I like being active.”

Iwaizumi can clearly imagine Kiyoko jumping hurdles. Her long legs easily sailing over the bar. He wished he could see it.

“I had a nickname, you know, when I played basketball” she says bouncing the ball. “I don’t know who started it, but it sort of stuck after the first game I played.” She turns to the basket and scrunches her nose in concentration. Iwaizumi’s jaw drops. No way is she going shoot from half court? “My nickname,” She says before bending down and shooting the ball. Iwaizumi watches the ball sail in the air. Damn it’s on course. DAMN IT’S ON COURSE. HOLY SHIT WAIT—“was _Invincible_.” The ball lands perfectly in the goal.

Iwaizumi stares.   

“DATE ME.”

Kiyoko turns to him wide eyes. He can’t believe what he just said. The sound of the ball bouncing echoes throughout the court.

“YOU’RE INVINCIBLE AND I WANT TO DATE YOU REALLY BAD.”

“O..OKAY!” She nods her head.

“COOL,” Iwaizumi screeches. “SO WE’RE DATING NOW?”

“I THINK SO.”

“NEAT.”

“HAJIME,” Kiyoko’s face is flushed, “CAN WE DATE?”

“KIYOKO WE’RE ALREADY DATING!”

“I KNOW I JUST WANTED TO ASK TOO.”

Iwaizumi laughs. “Yes, we can date. Kiyoko.”

Kiyoko grins and embraces him. “I’m glad we’re dating Hajime.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been teasing Basketball Kiyoko for the longest and we finally see her in action. She's invincible!! Her shooting percentage is amazing--she's not good at math, but her hand eye coordination is on point! This will be talked about later, but hopefully people have picked up on some things about Kiyoko and her life choices. I think it's cool in the manga we finally learn about her past in track and field. I decided to put it in this story to show that unconsciously she's been searching for a way to get over her mother's death by focusing on the body instead of the mind like her mother did. However during high school she became the volleyball manager which focuses on not only physical but mental states of the players. so in the end, her being manager sorta helped her come to terms with studying psychology like her mom wanted to do. 
> 
> i dunno if this counts as spoilers or not--mainly since i believe it's shown through other parts of the series already. Anyway if you guys wanna talk more about kiyoko and iwa and all that please don't hesitate to comment or message me at my writing tumblr ciswritesfanfiction !! I looooove these kinds of conversations--not just because its my story, but because i believe characters are the central part of a story and their actions create the plot. so talking characters is fun for me!
> 
> That's it for this update!! Thanks so much for reading and commenting!! Please check the other stories for more updates!! See you all later!

**Author's Note:**

> HELLO I am Cis!! For those who have been waiting for this spinoff IT'S HERE. WOW WE DID IT! I hope you find it enjoyable. This story is set before the events of the main story and it's all about how Kiyoko and Iwaizumi meet and get together and all that fun stuff. If you're new to this world I've created, I would suggest reading the other two fics in the series! Thanks everyone for reading and enjoying!!


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